Andy Murray makes Raonic dance to his tune

Written by: Staff on 4th September 2012

Andy Murray makes Raonic dance to his tune

epa03382376 Andy Murray of Britain hits a return to Milos Raonic of Canada during their match on the eighth night of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 03 September 2012. The US Open runs through 09 September 2012. EPA/JASON SZENES |

Before the match, the leader of the new wave of young players had been a little confrontational, stating that Murray would “find it tough to get my serve back” and “It’s really him adjusting more to me than myself to him.” Well… an individual as focussed and self-motivating as Murray is unlikely to have used that little tidbit to get himself prepped for the match, but he certainly did make the young Canadian eat his words. By the time the match had finished, the snarling grizzly bear had put on a pink tutu and was dancing to the beat of conductor Andy Murray’s wand.

Raonic slammed down 6 aces in the opening exchanges, but once Murray had learnt to read the serve, he found it much easier than Raonic had forecast, and it was Raonic who had to do the adapting. The puce cheeks and sweat-drenched Raonic could learn a thing or two about putting the hard yards in at the gym. He certainly should have learnt one or two things about humility – the main lesson being don’t call out the 3rd seed unless you’re going to beat him. A straight sets defeat after such bold comments is embarrassing to say the least. Raonic’s serve is certainly impressive, but Murray was able to break it 4 times out of 12 service games faced. The best thing we can hope for Raonic is that this humbling experience does indeed humble him.

There was evidence of a lesson learnt; Raonic was effusive in his praise for the Olympic Champion in the post-match conference. At 21 he’s young enough to make this experience a positive one – it’s often said that more is learnt in defeat than in victory, so if he’s smart enough there was a hell of a lot to learn from this match. Comments such as “I haven’t really felt in that situation too much when I feel like I’m doing things well” and “He did things I had no answer for, something I had not really experienced before” are an indication that Raonic at least presents himself as smart enough.

Murray was a wonder to watch. His improved repertoire of shots keeping Raonic from settling into any kind of rhythm throughout the match, and by the third set the younger man was exhausted, and it became something of an exhibition for Murray. The world number 4 didn’t take his foot off the gas though – no doubt enjoying himself out on court after a much tougher previous match against Feliciano Lopez.

The match was brought forward in the schedule, an astute decision by the tournament organisers as the rain fell just 10 minutes after the conclusion of the match. Murray now has a chance to rest up and prepare to face Marin Cilic – hoping to make his seventh meeting against the Croat his seventh win.

Andy Murray is through to the quarter finals, beating Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Topics: Andy Murray, British tennis news, Feliciano Lopez, Marin Cilic, milos raonic, Tennis, Tennis News, US Open 2012