Raonic roars on
Canadian to face Murray in Australian Open semifinal,
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA— Milos Raonic has beaten world No. 2 Andy Murray before — multiple times — so he knows what it feels like.
That’s not something the 25-year-old Canadian could say about Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal or even Roger Federer until he defeated him for the second time in 11 attempts two weeks ago in Brisbane.
Even before Raonic was a top-10 player, the legitimate threat he has become in the last few years, he gave the 28-year-old Brit a lot of trouble. But as the two square off in the singles semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday (3:30 a.m. EST), Raonic’s frame of reference notably isn’t the matches he won but those he lost.
“I think I’ll probably look back at the last one we played in — London I think was the last time we played, in the (2014) World Tour Finals (a 6-3, 7-5 Murray victory),” Raonic said.
“The U.S. Open is one that definitely is going to garner some attention as well (a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 Murray win in 2012). As much as I look back on it, even before I went on court today I was paying attention to what he was doing,” he added, after his quarter-final victory over Gael Monfils of France Wednesday night. “Because from where we were 14 months ago, we’re both very different and, I think, improved players.
“So I have certain aspects I would like to manipulate and use my game in, and I’m sure he’s going to try to do a lot of different things, too. I think it’s going to be a race to who can get in their comfort zone first.”
The road to a Grand Slam title these days must go through at least two of the top four players, and for those ranked outside that elite group, like the Canadian, it would more than likely be three.
That’s the biggest reason why winners from outside that top group have been so rare.
That Raonic, currently ranked No. 14, appears in a final four along with Djokovic, Murray and Federer makes him a fish out of water in the business of winning majors. If he wants to do it here, he would have to take down three titans: No. 4 Stan Wawrinka (the big hurdle he vaulted in the Round of 16), Murray in the semifinals and either Djokovic or Federer in the final.
It’s rarefied air indeed, but everything the Canadian did in the offseason built up to this big start. And the effort hasn’t gone unnoticed, not by anyone.
“It’s been a very good start to the year for him,” Murray said. “We’re only a couple of tournaments in and it’s a long, long year. He was unfortunate last year with some injuries. I played him in Madrid (last spring, just before Raonic had foot surgery) and he was struggling a little bit there.
“He’s obviously fit and healthy now and playing well.”
With France’s Davis Cup team in utter disarray after a shocking loss to eventual champions Great Britain last year, and with the prospect of facing a surging Raonic and Canada in the first round in March, a tie that will be held outside France for the first time in its history in the French territory of Guadeloupe, Monfils already is wary.
Monfils said new captain Yannick Noah’s decision to hold the tie abroad on an outdoor clay court right in the middle of a hard-court season that begins indoors before the March 4-6 tie and continues outdoors afterwards, has met with vociferous opposition from most of the French players.
“He’s right to play the Canadians on outdoor clay, that’s the best chance for us,” Monfils said. “If we want to beat them — especially to beat Raonic — we might play a little better, you could say, on outdoor clay. I respect his choice, even if we’re not happy about it.”
That a key member of the French Davis Cup squad already is worried about defeating Raonic on an outdoor, red clay court is emblematic of a shift in perception about the Canadian, previously best known for his monumental serve and generally considered a one-dimensional player.