Raonic cruises into U.S. Open third round, despite the heat
NEW YORK — Milos Raonic felt he stepped up in the second round of the U.S. Open — and the score line indicates the Canadian did just that.
After an inconsistent performance in a four-set win over qualifier Carlos Berlocq to open the final Grand Slam of the year, the No. 25 seed downed France’s Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, on a hot and humid Wednesday at Flushing Meadows.
“Overall, I did things well and took care of my serve,” Raonic, of Thornhill, Ont., said. “I was a lot more disciplined with myself. I wasn’t going up and down in the match like I did my previous one. Overall, I’m happy.”
Raonic had 17 aces to Simon’s none and broke his opponent on three of six chances.
The hard-serving Canadian improved to 5-1 against Simon, with victories in all three of their hard court matches.
“He does a very good job of sort of throwing you out of the rhythm, where he plays very slow, sort of gets you to slow down your intentions and will sort of surprise you by taking the ball early,” Raonic said.
“So I was happy that I was able to, in those important moments, just, you know, be patient and sort of trust my legs that I would be able to hold on, just to keep that pressure on him.”
With temperatures reaching close to 35 C, Raonic was happy to have a relatively quick match (two hours six minutes).
“It’s nice to get by, and in an efficient manner today,” Raonic said.
“I don’t really regard the heat as a disadvantage or advantage. I think both guys have to deal with it.”
Raonic will next face 2016 U.S. Open winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland. Wawrinka, who missed the last year’s U.S. Open, is on a nine-match winning streak at Flushing Meadows.
Raonic, who also was out for the 2017 tournament, has beaten Wawrinka just once in five matches over his career.
“It’s going to be good,” said Raonic, who is 15-4 since the start of the grass court season. “I watched him play two matches last week . ... He’s playing well again.”
There are plenty of similarities between the two. Raonic and Wawrinka both have a careerhigh ranking of No. 3 and live in Monte Carlo. They’re both seeking their first hard court title since 2016 and are coached by former world No. 2 players — Raonic by Goran Ivanisevic and Wawrinka by Magnus Norman.
Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil played second-round matches later on Wednesday.