ANDY MURRAY WINS AGAIN, GIVES RAFA NADAL NO. 4 SEED AT U.S. OPEN BY DEFEATING MILOS RAONIC

Written by: Staff on 20th August 2016

Western and Southern Open tennis tournament

ANDY MURRAY WINS AGAIN, GIVES RAFA NADAL NO. 4 SEED AT U.S. OPEN BY DEFEATING MILOS RAONIC

epa05503893 Andy Murray of Britain waves after defeating Milos Raonic of Canada in their semifinal match in the Western & Southern Open tennis championships at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 20 August 2016. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

By Ricky Dimon

Andy Murray extended his winning streak to 22 matches when he beat Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday evening. Murray, the Wimbledon and Rio Olympics champion, saved all three of the break points he faced to prevail in just one hour and 30 minutes.

“I didn’t get broken the last couple of matches and when I was in difficult situations I made good choices,” the Scot explained. “Because I’ve won a lot the last few months, that’s something that has been good–especially this week for sure. I’ve needed it to be because I haven’t been feeling perfect. I’ve managed to get through the matches pretty well.”

Murray has been getting through matches well ever since the French Open. In fact, the last time he lost was in the title match at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic. The world No. 2 has since triumphed at Queen’s Club, Wimbledon, and the Olympics.

Despite making a quick turnaround on the heels of his gold medal in Rio, Murray has not come close to losing in Cincinnati. Prior to seeing off Raonic, the top seed cruised past Juan Monaco, Kevin Anderson, and Bernard Tomic in straight sets. As for Raonic, who fell to Murray in the final at the All-England Club earlier this summer, he never had a chance in this Cincinnati rematch. His normally huge serve proved to be of no resistance to Murray’s rock-solid return. The world No. 6 was broken three times, including at 3-5 to end the opening set and at 3-4 in the second.

Murray battled through a tough service game at 5-3 to seal the deal as more rain threatened to wash out play for the night.

Milos Raonic of Canada hits a return shot to Andy Murray of Britain during their semifinal match in the Western & Southern Open tennis championships at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 20 August 2016. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

“I [have] to obviously serve much better than I did today,” Raonic assessed. “Today I also did a better job of creating opportunities on his serve that I didn’t make count. I had three break chances and three second serves…. I put the ball in once on second serves. That is not a formula of success by any means.”

A formula for success at the U.S. Open would have been a snagging a top four seed. With such a distinction, Raonic would have been sure to avoid Murray and Djokovic until at least the semifinals. By virtue of the Canadian’s loss to Murray, Rafael Nadal will be the No. 4 seed in New York and Raonic–as No. 5–could potentially face either Murray or Djokovic in the quarters.

Djokovic, of course, is in line for the No. 1 seed at the season’s final Grand Slam. He will be followed by Murray, Stan Wawrinka, and Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer’s withdrawal opened up the door to the fourth seed and Raonic almost capitalized, only to fall one match short on Saturday.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, milos raonic, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Tennis News, US Open

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emooowe says:

August 20, 2016 at 11:18 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: Murray Wins Again, Gives Rafa No. 4 Seed @ #USOpen By Defeating Raonic
https://t.co/UIX3d0JL5q

#WSOpen #CincyTennis http…
wienerwalz says:

August 20, 2016 at 11:25 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: Murray Wins Again, Gives Rafa No. 4 Seed @ #USOpen By Defeating Raonic
https://t.co/UIX3d0JL5q

#WSOpen #CincyTennis http…
10sBalls_com says:

August 21, 2016 at 8:46 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Murray Wins Again, Gives Rafa No. 4 Seed @ #USOpen By Defeating Raonic
https://t.co/UIX3d0JL5q

#WSOpen #CincyTennis http…