Raonic reaches third consecutive semifinal of the season
Milos Raonic has reached his third semifinal in as many tournaments this season, after he beat Gael Monfils in straight sets at Indian Wells, California on Thursday.
The 7-5, 6-3 win over the Frenchman gives Canada’s Raonic his 13th win of the season against a single loss, which came after he suffered an injury in the semifinals of the Australian Open against Andy Murray in January.
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“I’ve gotta be very happy with the way I competed, dealt with the situations well, I gave myself a lot of opportunities and at the end of the day, I did what counts most and I took care of my serve,” Raonic said on court after his victory.
Raonic broke Monfils’ service game early in the opening set to take a 4-1 lead after he consolidated, but gave that break back three games later allowing the French star to level. Raonic got the next break point when he needed it most, up 6-5 to close out the opening set despite great resistance from Monfils.
The Canadian was far-and-away the more consistent player in the second set, stealing Monfils’ first service game and pushing him to hold serve on his second. However, the single break point won in the second set was enough to create the distance between the players, sending Raonic to the semifinals after he put the winning point away at the net.
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The Masters 1000 tourney at Indian Wells is Raonic’s first test since the adductor condition that saw him break down in the fourth set against Murray in Melbourne after getting in a comfortable position against the Brit. Raonic was leading two-sets-to-one before conceding that Grand Slam match in five sets. Since then Raonic has missed a tournament and Davis Cup in order to recuperate.
“I’ve gotta be very happy with the way I competed,” Raonic said. “(I) dealt with the situations well, I gave myself a lot of opportunities and at the end of the day, I did what counts most and I took care of my serve.”
Raonic began the season by winning the Brisbane International. His semifinal opponent in California will be Belgian David Goffin.
