BERCY – RAONIC UPSETS FEDERER FROM RICHARD EVANS, PARIS

Written by: Staff on 31st October 2014

BNP Paribas 2014 Masters Tennis Tournament

BERCY – RAONIC UPSETS FEDERER FROM RICHARD EVANS, PARIS

epa04468706 Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts during his second round match against Jeremy Chardy of France at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 29 October 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

Milos Raonic, clinging on to the possibility of making the top eight for the ATP Finals in London, finally worked out a way to beat Roger Federer in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Masters here, winning a tight struggle 7-6, 7-5.

“I think he played very well,” said Federer who had beaten the big Canadian in all six of their previous meetings. “If he serves that accurate and that well over a long period of time, he’s always going to remain in the match somewhat and he’s going to stay out of trouble on the important moments of the game. I didn’t do much wrong, it’s just a shot here or there and that makes a difference.”

Milos Raonic of Canada celebrates his victory against Roger Federer of Switzerland during their quarter final match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 31 October 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

It was a fair summary and, for Federer fans, the major disappointment was that the loss reduced Roger’s chances of returning to the position of No 1 in the world. Just the fact that he is in contention to do so vies for the story of the year in the men’s game but he has his work cut out now, especially as Novak Djokovic followed him on court and took care of a weary Andy Murray 7-5, 6-2.

If Murray felt a little tired it was hardly surprising as this was his 6th consecutive week on the tour but he was loathe to admit as much. “I suppose I was rushing points at the end,” he offered. “I’ve just had a look at the stats and I was winning most of the rallies that went over five shots. But I made too many mistakes early in the rallies.”

Murray broke to lead 2-1 in the second set after digging himself out of 0-40 in the previous game but Djokovic struck back immediately and took complete control of a contest that contained many fine rallies soon afterwards.

Asked if he felt that the Serb is coming to the net more often now that Boris Becker is in his coaching corner, Murray said he hadn’t noticed any particular change. “He didn’t need to change a whole lot on his game, to be honest,” Murray said dryly. “He’s been doing pretty well.”

Andy Murray of Britain returns to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during his quarter final match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 31 October 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

In a more limited sense, so has Murray. Three titles from the six tournaments he has played since the US Open has seen the Scot rise to No 5 in the race for the ATP Finals and he quite rightly feels a sense of great satisfaction. “The last six weeks has been fantastic,” he said. “Only positives can taken from those weeks. I got through some really tough, long, physical matches and my body held up. I actually felt better here than I did last week in Valencia which is a good sign.”

Murray won’t take too long a rest when he gets back to London. He is match tight, full of confidence and wants to keep it that way. Obviously he needs to step up a notch if he wants to get past Djokovic, who has now beaten him twice in this last segment of the year. But, with some justification, Murray feels he is not far away from being able to mount a serious challenge against his old rival.

Earlier in the day Tomas Berdych took a long time to overcome the improving South African Kevin Anderson before ensuring himself of a place in London with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 win. The big Czech was down a break in the final set and said it felt particularly good to have to fight back for victory, especially the result carried so much importance.

“Yeah, you know, no matter how many times you make the ATP Finals, it’s probably never going to be a routine thing. It’s always proof a having had a great season and what I like especially this year, it’s that I made it by myself. I didn’t have to wait for anybody to win or lose or something like that. That’s definitely the best feeling; the best reward to make it happen this way.”

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp, Bercy, Bnp Paribas Masters, David Ferrer, Kei Nishikori, milos raonic, Paris, Richard Evans, Roger Federer, Tennis, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

October 31, 2014 at 3:10 pm

#BERCY – @milosraonic UPSETS @rogerfederer FROM RICHARD EVANS (@Ringham7) , #PARIS- http://t.co/FQFLMArkDq #tennis #bnpparibasmasters #ATP