ATP Cincinnati: Milos Raonic eases past Andy Murray. Filip Krajinovic marches on

In their last meeting on the Tour, Andy Murray and Milos Raonic played one of the most exciting matches in the ATP Finals' history. Murray prevailed 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 after three hours and 38 minutes in the semi-final, staying on the title course and moving a win away from stealing the year-end no. 1 honor from Novak Djokovic. A lot has changed in the last four years and both players have been struggling with injuries, losing ground in the rankings and not being able to chase notable titles and victories. More than three and a half years after the previous meeting, Andy and Milos were the rivals in the third round of Cincinnati Masters 1000 event, with the Canadian scoring a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 triumph in the rain-delayed encounter. Milos is through to his 26th Masters 1000 quarter-final and the first since Indian Wells 2019, dropping only 13 points in eight service games and fending off both break chances offered to a former champion.

Andy had to work hard in the previous match against Alexander Zverev, scoring his first top-10 victory since Roland Garros 2017 but losing too much energy, having nothing left in the tank for Raonic clash. Milos grabbed his last triumph over Andy in Indian Wells 2014, finishing on the losing side against the Briton in the next eight matches but changing that on Tuesday with rock-solid performance, hitting 21 winners in comparison to only seven from Murray who never found the desired rhythm. Andy failed to return almost every third serve that came from the other side of the net, losing edge in both the shortest and more extended exchanges to end his run in the third round and propel Milos through. The servers barely lost a point in the first four games, and that all changed at 2-2 when Murray netted an easy forehand to push Raonic in the lead. Milos confirmed the break with a service winner, securing another break at 4-2 following a backhand mistake from the Briton and sealing the opener with an ace for a 6-2 after 34 minutes.

Milos Raonic dominated over Andy Murray to reach quarter-final.

After four points at the beginning of the second set, they went from the court for an hour and a half due to rain. Once they returned, Milos grabbed a break when Andy sent a smash beyond the baseline to move a set and a break in front. Facing the only troubles on serve at 3-2, Raonic fired two winners to erase them, securing another break at 4-2 and sealing the deal with three winners in game eight to sail into the quarters. Following a massive victory over world no. 3 Dominic Thiem, Filip Krajinovic took down a qualifier Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 6-1 in 63 minutes, suffering two breaks but delivering an incredible performance on the return to convert six out of seven break opportunities. In one of the worst serving performance on the ATP Tour in the last ten years, Marton won ten out of 36 points behind the initial shot, going two from 19 on the first and suffering a severe loss. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/34ymocJ