MILOS RAONIC KEEPS ALIVE HIS LONDON BID WITH NAIL-BITING PARIS WIN

Written by: Staff on 29th October 2014

MILOS RAONIC KEEPS ALIVE HIS LONDON BID WITH NAIL-BITING PARIS WIN

epa04431028 Milos Raonic of Canada reacts after winning a point against Gilles Simon of France during their singles semifinal match at the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan, 04 October 2014. EPA/KIYOSHI OTA |

(Courtesy of The ATP and Original Link: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/10/44/Paris-Wednesday-Wawrinka-Raonic.aspx )

Two London contenders survived tense third-set battles to keep alive their chances of appearing at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Milos Raonic was the first to pull off a gritty win, beating qualifier Jack Sock 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4). It was the Canadian’s sixth straight win – and fifth in 2014 – over Sock.

Canada’s Milos Raonic returns to Belgium’s David Goffin during their quarterfinal match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 24 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

“I felt like I did a good job in that tie-break,” said Raonic. “I got ahead one point [at 2-1 in the tie-break] and then just really took care of my service points.”

Raonic fired 19 aces to Sock’s 17 aces for victory in just over two hours. He will next meet Roberto Bautista Agut who defeated 2007 semi-finalist Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2 in the second round.

“I know what I need to do, but it’s too dependent on other guys, so I’m just very much focused on myself,” admitted Raonic. “It’s not like if I do well I have a safe spot.”

David Ferrer followed with another marathon victory, topping David Goffin 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 and increasing his chances of making a sixth appearance at the season finale. The 32-year-old survived 21 winners from Goffin, closing out the match in one hour and 46 minutes.

With the victory, the 2012 Paris champion sits at No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, pushing Milos Raonic back to No. 10 despite his win over Sock earlier in the day. To guarantee his spot in the year-end event, Ferrer will need to match his 2013 performance at the BNP Paribas Masters where he reached the final.

David Ferrer of Spain returns the ball to David Goffin of Belgium during their second round match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 29 October 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

The defeat ends a remarkable comeback season for Goffin. After being sidelined by a broken wrist near the end of 2013, the 23-year-old Belgian has returned stronger than ever, capturing four ATP Challenger Tour titles, two ATP World Tour titles, and rising into the Top 30 for the first time in his career. He closed out his season by winning 17 of his last 19 matches.

Ferrer will next face fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco who upset 15th-seed Gilles Simon in his second round match.

Topics: Barclays ATP World Tour, David Ferrer, David Goffin, jack sock, milos raonic, Paris, tennis update

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10sBalls_com says:

October 29, 2014 at 12:01 pm

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