Raonic Rebounds with Victory over Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati

Milos Raonic put his disappointing Rogers Cup exit behind him in emphatic style by upsetting France’s Richard Gasquet. Al Dannity looks back on a big win for Canada’s number one and assesses Raonic’s prospects for the rest of the tournament.

That was needed
Milos Raonic felt the hangover of his epic Olympic clash with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga when he returned home for the Rogers Cup. Despite winning his first round match and receiving a bye to the Quarter Finals, an important rankings boost for the Canadian, Raonic was on the receiving end of big-serving American John Isner in the last eight. It’s rare for the Thornhill, Ont. player to be over-powered but the fatigue from the Tsonga match, coupled with Isner’s own immense power, left him vulnerable.

On Tuesday Raonic showed the type of power game we have come to expect in 2012. Facing a talented opponent in the form of Richard Gasquet, Raonic held his nerve and took the first set 7-6. Raonic showed more confidence in the second set and closed out the match 6-3 to win his first ever meeting with the Frenchman.

A manageable road
Next up for Raonic is Marcos Baghdatis. The animated Cypriot made his name globally in an epic battle with Andre Agassi back in 2006. A mixed career has followed since that five-set war and Baghdatis has dropped to 42 in the rankings. Raonic is on a charge for the top 10 and will draw confidence from his victory over Baghdatis in Stockholm last year. Should Raonic win through, he will have turned a disappointing spell into his most successful fortnight of the year in terms of rankings points.

Tomas Berdych awaits the winner in the last 16. On his day the Czech is a match for anyone, it’s just rather difficult to guess when that is. The world number 7 is enduring a rough patch, falling in the first round of Wimbledon and the Olympics before losing to Gasquest in the last 16 of the Rogers Cup. If Raonic is going to make the top 10 this year, he needs to start recording wins against players of that calibre and Berdych could be ripe for another upset.

From there the path only grows in difficulty. David Ferrer, a versatile Spaniard, will likely make the Quarter Finals. Raonic however will have particularly strong motivation to make the Semi Finals. A shot at Roger Federer may be on offer and after three heart-breaking near misses this year, Raonic may finally believe he has the game to topple the greatest of all time.

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