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Milos Raonic has recorded a resounding four set victory over Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals of the 2016 Australian Open, but it certainly wasn’t all smooth sailing.
The win for Raonic sees him become the first ever Canadian male to make the semi-finals of the Australian Open, and set up a huge match with second seed Andy Murray.
The first set seemed to be over before it started really, with Monfils really struggling to get into his serve. While it was always going to be tough for him to break Raonic, he lost a service game very early with a double fault. In fact, double faults would hamper Monfils right throughout the match and make it hard for him to compete.
Raonic would hold his service games with pure power, taking the first set easily.
The second set was a complete reversal, with Raonic unable to win his service games easily. He was still serving strongly, but his forehand game that was so strong all night couldn’t keep him in.
Monfils came back with a very strong serve in the second set, however the third and fourth were more like the first. Raonic re-found his best form and Monfils just simply couldn’t match it despite a few small rallies.
In the end a relatively convincing win for Raonic in four sets.
Final Score:
Monfils 3 6 3 4
Raonic 6 3 6 6
In his first ever Australian Open quarter-final appearance, Gael Monfils will take on big serving Canadian Milos Raonic in what promises to be an epic encounter. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:20pm (AEDT).
Monfils has a very sound game, but it will be put to the test against Raonic. The (now) two-time Australian Open quarter-finalist utilises one of the biggest serves in men’s Tennis, along with a killer volley. He also has plenty of power in his groundstrokes and likes to get out on the attack.
Can Monfils combat this? Only time will tell, but he must if he wishes to stay in the match.
This is the first time Monfils has made it to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, but he has made the quarters at both the French and US Open.
His run throughout the tournament has been nothing short of brilliant so far, with straight sets victories over Yuichi Sugita, Nicholas Mahut, Stephane Robert and then a four sets victory over Andrey Kuznetsov. After playing no matches in the lead-up, he will be very happy to have shown his worth.
Raonic meanwhile, has also had convincing victories but a few little issues will worry him. He recorded straight sets victories over Lucas Pouille, Tommy Robredo, Viktor Troicki before a five-set epic to knock out fourth seed Stan Wawrinka.
Two sets in the Robredo game though, went to tie-breakers while Wawrinka came back from two sets down to send it to a five-set match.
Previously, the pair has met in three matches. Monfils holds the upper hand having won two while the only meeting Raonic has won was by way of a walkover and so can’t really be counted. It will also be their first meeting in a grand slam.
In saying all that, the past matches between the pair can’t be counted as the gospel, due to the fact they came way back in 2011 and 2013. Raonic has improved out of sight since then, flying up the rankings to now be ranked 13th, 10 spots higher than Monfils who comes in at 23.
Prediction
It looks like it is all going to come down to how Monfils will be able to counter the excellent serve and volley of Raonic. While Monfils has plenty of experience, he has had a difficult track record at the Australian Open. It will be far from an easy ride for Raonic, but he should get the job done.
Raonic in five sets.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this Australian Open quarter-final from 7:20pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below as the match unfolds.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde