RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PICK FOR THE FIRST SEMIFINAL AT THE BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS: MURRAY VS. RAONIC

Written by: Staff on 18th November 2016

RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PICK FOR THE FIRST SEMIFINAL AT THE BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS: MURRAY VS. RAONIC

epa05635670 Milos Raonic of Canada celebrates winning against Dominic Thiem of Austria during their Men's singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 17 November 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

By Ricky Dimon

Andy Murray and Milos Raonic will be squaring off for the 12th time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the title match at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday evening. Murray leads the head-to-head series 8-3 after having once trailed it 3-1.

Murray’s 7-0 record against Raonic in their last seven meetings dates back to the 2014 World Tour Finals, where Murray rolled 6-3, 7-5 in round-robin action. They have already clashed five times this year and it would have been six if not for Raonic’s recent withdrawal from a scheduled BNP Paribas Masters semifinal showdown. Raonic, who has obviously recovered from his quadriceps problem, is 0-7 in his last seven sets against Murray since snagging the opener of this summer’s Queen’s Club final. That stretch is highlighted by a 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) triumph for the Scot in the Wimbledon final.

Andy Murray of Britain in action against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland during their Men’s singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 18 November 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Murray also defeated Raonic in the Queen’s Club title match, and he is an incredible 48-3 in his last 51 matches dating back to the start of that tournament. He has captured the title at seven of his last nine tournaments and is currently enjoying a 22-match winning streak. The world No. 1, who assumed that spot in the rankings for the first time in his career two weeks ago, is 3-0 at the O2 Arena with wins over Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori, and Stan Wawrinka. In between straight-set defeats of Cilic and Wawrinka, Murray survived Nishikori 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 20 minutes on Wednesday.

“I think the one thing that I might have (in my favor),” Raonic noted, “is how much [Murray] has on his shoulders right now–a lot of consecutive matches, and what he’s playing for (the No. 1 ranking). I have to try to do my best to try to accentuate that as much as possible in my own favor so I can really get the most out of myself and hopefully be able to get on top of him for once this year.”

Raonic compiled a 2-1 mark in group play and even in his lone loss he turned in a strong showing against the man Murray is battling for the No. 1 ranking–Novak Djokovic. Following a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Gael Monfils, the Canadian fell to Djokovic 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in a high-quality contest on Tuesday night. Needing a win at Dominic Thiem’s expense to reach the semifinals, Raonic prevailed 7-6(5), 6-3 on Thursday.

“It’s a big match, obviously,” Murray commented. “Milos obviously serves big; goes for his shots. He moves forward when he has the chance. I think he probably likes the conditions here–it’s a little bit quicker.

“You don’t normally get loads of opportunities against the big servers. Then it comes down to when you do get those chances, whether you take them or not. And this year when I’ve played him, I’ve created a few opportunities in the matches. When they’ve come, I’ve been pretty clinical.”

Dominant would be more accurate to describe Murray’s recent performances against Raonic. The underdog’s form this week suggests that this semifinal showdown could be more competitive than some of their recent meetings, but Murray has forgotten how to lose tennis matches of late and he has the added benefit of home-court advantage–a scenario in which he thrived this summer at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon.

Pick: Murray in 2