Capitalizing on timely breaks of serve, the third-seeded Scot Andy Murray, the recent Olympic men’s singles gold medalist, rolled over the rising Canadian Milos Raonic, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, to advance convincingly to the US Open quarterfinals for the third time.
In a matchup of one of the tour’s best and biggest servers and arguably the game’s finest returner, Raonic’s big delivery was not enough to put a dent into Murray’s all-court game. The 25-year-old Scot played consistent, largely error-free tennis in a quick day’s work on Labor Day under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium. There were rare but opportune flashes of Murray’s shotmaking brilliance: the occasional running down of a lob for a flicked passing shot, deft drop shot here, an outstretched dipping crosscourt forehand there.
“I hit my passing shot very well tonight,” Murray told Brad Gilbert in an on-court interview. “I was just trying to react quickly. Sometimes you get your racquet on it, and sometimes it goes right by you,” Murray said about Raonic’s imposing serve.
"He has a massive serve, a very loose arm," he said. "He has one of the best [serves] for sure."
Despite that, Murray never faced a break point in the match. He struck 31 winners against a meager 12 unforced errors in a very clean and positive performance.
Raonic, who was born in Montenegro but moved to Canada at the age of three, was the youngest man to reach the round of 16 here and is considered one of the tour’s rising stars. Armed with a massive serve that routinely clocks 140 mph or faster, and an imposing forehand modeled on his idol Pete Sampras, the 21-year-old Canadian has rocketed up the rankings, from No. 156 at year’s end in 2010 to a projected No. 14 after the completion of this year’s US Open.
Expectations for Raonic are high—something Andy Murray surely knows a thing or two about. The four-time Grand Slam finalist Murray has yet to break through at a major, though he reached a milestone earlier this summer, capturing the Olympic gold medal by outclassing Roger Federer on the home lawns of Wimbledon. Murray professes to prefer hardcourts, however, and many observers believe his chances to win a major to be greatest at the US Open.
Murray now advances to meet 12th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia in the quarterfinal, the Scot's eight consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. Cilic defeated Murray in the fourth round of the 2009 US Open in straight sets, though Murray owns a lifetime 6-1 rout over the Croatian, including victories in their last three meetings.
by Neil Schlecht
Monday, September 3, 2012
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