Roger Federer Masterful Against Raonic
Roger Federer Masterful Against Raonic 
Indian Wells, CA – “Shhh… Quiet please. Genius at work.” This was an evening of incredible tennis and drama that has somewhat been lacking in the first few rounds of the BNP Paribas Open. Roger Federer overcame Milos Raonic in breath-taking fashion in front of close to 16,000 fans 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4. It truly was master class as both men put on serving displays in an era dominated by ground strokes and returns. Both served 10 aces, and both served 6 doubles faults. But it was their consistency in getting free points on serve and backing up their first serves which was most impressive. Federer won 88% of his points when he got his first serve in, Raonic at 76%. In the first set, Raonic only dropped one point, going 22/23 when getting his first serve in. Federer was a merer 21/25; great, but not good enough as the Canadian took the first set in a tiebreak. What truly decided the first set was an errant forehand by Federer as a gust of wind took his ball and carried it long. That gave Raonic the only mini-break of the tiebreak and he was able to hold out.
Everyone was on the edge of their seats for the rest of the match, Federer didn’t disappoint. The Swiss master broke in the very first game, seemingly reading every single one of Raonic’s serves and putting them in play. Once the points began, Federer would draw blood first, moving the 6 foot 5 inch Raonic deep to the forehand corner before wrong-footing him or pinning him to the opposite side. Federer’s forehand seemed to accelerate each time it hit the court, and despite Raonic’s natural and raw strength, was seen constantly stretching and reaching to slice and hack at balls uncomfortably. Federer put Raonic on the run and continued to serve notice that he wasn’t going away. Raonic was punished each time he approached the net and Federer took control, breaking again to go up 4-1, and sealing the set at 6-2. The tide turned and all eyes were again on Raonic to see if he could continue his level of play.
The third set was electrifying and by this point everyone in Stadium 1 knew they were witnessing a classic match displaying the stuff of legend from the Fed-Express and the development of one of the game’s up-and-coming talents. The Raonic serve continued to blast 130+ mph serves, causing Federer to frame a lot of returns or not even return them at all. Federer continued to up the ante, winning an astounding 100% of his points when he got his first serve in. At 3-all, the critical game arrived. Federer played well, and found himself with one chance to break. Federer faced the pressure an returned a massive serve from Raonic before hitting a time-less and beautiful one-handed backhand up the line for the break. From there, it was all Federer, and with a little help from Raonic (he didn’t challenge two balls that would’ve been overturned if he had), rolled in his next two service games to win the match. Everyone in the stadium went into a cheering frenzy after match point, celebrating both players but also because they were catching a glimpse once again of the greatness of Roger Federer under pressure. Federer later said in his press conference that he’s still not 100% recovered from his illness and that his experienced helped him remain calm and weather the (Raonic) storm. He has a quick turn around as he plays during the day session against left-hander Thomaz Bellucci tomorrow.
Topics: milos raonic, Roger Federer, Thomaz Bellucci
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