Danger looms large for Andy
Murray when he takes on Milos Raonic in the third round on Monday, the 3rd
September. It is not known whether he has figured out the way to defeat Raonic.
Drawn against each other three times, they could play only once since injuries
prevented play on the other two occasions. When they played at Barcelona earlier
this year, Raonic defeated Murray in straight sets.
Murray has the game to
defeat Raonic, but the only thing he has to do is to figure out the serve. Two
inches advantage in height lies with both the players - Raonic being the
taller, has developed a devastating first serve whereas Murray being the shorter,
moves much better. Murray is gifted with a sharp anticipation, but he could not
prevent fourteen aces in eleven service games when they played at Barcelona.
This could have a repeat occurrence since it is independent of the court surface.
All the three titles that have landed in Raonic kitty were on hard courts, two
indoor and one outdoor. Hard court is also a preferred surface for Murray where
he has been finalist three times in Grand Slam majors, twice in Australia and
once at the U.S Open.
Raonic will employ the same
tactics that has won him numerous matches - serve well above 60% and get half
the points in service games so that there is little reliance on the second
serve. Serve is his main weapon, both first and the second. Murray, being a
good returner, will deny a few of the service winners but since his returns
sometimes fall short from the ad court, Raonic will get chance to employ one -
two combination. Raonic not being the best returner, Murray can get his own
share of points won on serve. He however tends to underperform on the
percentage of first serves. It is a big relief for his team if he does not fall
below 55%. Matches that Murray wins can be related to the percentage of his
first serves since his second serve is rather weak. However, in all other
departments, Murray has advantage over Raonic. It depends a lot on whether he
is able to avoid tie breakers where the serve power will give a distinct
advantage to Raonic.
If both the players serve
well, whosoever plays better on the important points of the match will win. If
Raonic serves well and Murray serves poorly, Raonic will win by holding his
serve and putting pressure on Murray’s serve. If both serve below average,
Murray might win through less number of unforced errors. If Murray serves well
and Raonic serves poorly, Murray will be the likely victor.
Raonic will have the
psychological advantage from his win over Murray in the only match played, but
Murray will have a game plan to redeem his honour having learnt lessons from the
mistakes. The result will go the way of whoever plays better on the day.
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