Milos Raonic has defeated Romanian
Victor Hanescu in straight sets 6-1 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of Chennai
Open, 2012. He is seeded fourth with the first three places going to Janko
Tipsarevic, Nicolas Almagro and Stanislas Wawrinka. However, if plays to his
full potential, it would be difficult for anybody to take him out.
Although Raonic served only nine aces in
the 17 games played, Hanescu found his serve difficult to return. Many a time,
he served the second serve kicking high on the single fisted backhand of Hanescu.
He stepped into the mid-court to hit winners on the short return of Hanescu.
Hanescu was not allowed to play the game that won him the first round against
Sam Querry. Raonic played all court game - powerful serves, net approach, and
baseline rallies. Hanescu found it difficult to find any weakness in Raonic game
which could be exploited. The single fisted backhand often crumbled under pressure.
The same can happen to matches between Raonic and Almagro / Wawrinka.
Among the young prodigies, Raonic
has the best credentials. He has been consistent in his performance in 2011.
The quality of his game is such that he can defeat anybody when playing well.
It was the hip surgery after Wimbledon that halted his surge in the rankings. He
plays with a low net clearance but does not often bury shots into the net. He
is able to create angles on both the flanks and the power takes the time away
from the opponent. His shots are not like those of other big guys who prefer to
play flatter shots. There is enough safety margin for the ball to land within
the court. He made much less unforced errors against Hanescu.
Milos Raonic is the danger man in
the Chennai Open draw. If he gets confidence here, Australian Open might see
his heroics of the last year in greater scale.
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