Milos the missile aims to torpedo Andy’s title bid

Raonic believes he has enough ammunition to fire his way past Scot

MILOS RAONIC says he is ready to serve time on Andy Murray’s US Open hopes when the two men meet in the last 16 at Flushing Meadows today.

The 21-year-old, dubbed the missile from Montenegro, sent down a massive 29 aces during his third round dismissal of James Blake.

And he knows if he can display the same efficiency on his serve today, there is only so much the world No.4 can do.

“If I serve well, if I hit the lines, it’s tough to get my serve back,” said Raonic, who has a top serve speed of 143mph and 29 more aces than anyone else in the tournament.

“It’s really him who has to adjust more to me than myself to him. If I’m serving well, I’m hitting my spots, it’s about making him feel as uncomfortable as possible. If I serve well, that’s what happens.”

The robotic Raonic models his game on Pete Sampras, and is determined to live or die by his own racquet.

He tends to regard second serves as merely a second chance to get an ace. He even boasts a winning record against the Scot, albeit the two men have met only once previously, in Barcelona earlier this year.

The World No.15 feels the match-up gave him an insight into the Scot’s return game and feels ready to record the breakout result in his career.

RAONIC said: “It will help me quite a bit. The serve gave me a lot of insight into what he likes to do. Before that, you sort of have an understanding, but especially the top four guys, you give them big respect.

“It sort of humanises them quite a bit. If I do the things right, I know the opportunities will be there.”

Confident or not, Murray came through a huge test of character in his third-round victory against Feliciano Lopez and will still be most observers’ favourite.

“He has a huge serve and he’s improved a lot from the back of the court,” the Scot said.

“He can serve some doubles, but also get free points from his second serve, too. This is his best year on the tour so far.”

He sees the 21-year-old as a potential Grand Slam winner, but has no intention to let it happen now.

“He’s had some good wins this ye a r,” s a i d M u r r ay. “H e ’s obviously playing better and better and gaining experience all the time. He’s definitely going to be dangerous.”