Milos Raonic threw everything absolutely everything at Andy Murray today in the World Tour SF but it was not enough. Murray survived and escaped with an unforgettable 57 76 76 victory that included having failed to twice serve out the win in the final set and then saving a match point at 8-9 in the third set tiebreaker. Raonic was as expressive as ever and played incredible tennis to push and push Andy to his limits. But Murray refused to relinquish his quest to be ATP no 1 and he refused to allow Raonic to invade a spot into the ATP elite hierarchy. Raonic continues to show he is worthy of entering the ATP elite but this latest setback after such a heroic effort will sting the Canadian as he enters his off-season. The question still remains: Can Raonic win the big one? Off today’s masterful but losing performance I say yes indeed Raonic will win a Grand Slam major title in 2017. For Andy the question is can he recover physically and mentally in 24 hours to be ready for Novak Djokovic? Though Djokovic needs to beat Kei Nishikori tonight in order to face Andy for the ATP no 1 ranking on Sunday it’s highly improbable to think Djokovic won’t get the job done against Kei. But one thing is for certain: Today’s Andy vs Raonic was as good as any match we’ve seen all year – if not better. And we have to wonder – considering what’s at stake – that a Djokovic vs Andy World Tour Final can be even more exciting.
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Hartt · November 19, 2016 at 1:27 pm
Scoop, I think you beat even the ATP site in posting this.
As you can imagine, I was beyond excited by this match. It was one of the very, very few times I was rooting for Milos’ opponent because I want Andy to get the year-end No. 1. But during the match itself I was willing Milos to win the points.
I will be interested to see the stats for this match. Generally, if Milos has a first serve % of at least 60% he will win the match. Am not sure if he managed to do that today.
But in the end, it was the more experienced player Murray who pulled out the win, showing great fighting spirit.
Now I am hoping that Kei will manage to make things tough for Novak, to wear him out, because Andy must be too exhausted for words.
Dan Markowitz · November 19, 2016 at 4:21 pm
My problems with Raonic as a big big time player are these two:
1. He is slow. On that match point he had on Murray in the breaker, Murray hit that inside-out backhand volley to Raonic’s forehand and Milos didn’t come close to tracking it down. Every other top player would’ve gotten to that ball.
2. I didn’t like Raonic’s reaction at the handshake. He gave Andy a big smile and looked completely unfazed that he lost. Now I see it’s probably his intent to act very relaxed and carefree (probably because he does want it so bad), but I would’ve liked a little more of a disappointed look and reaction to losing such a close match.
3. Once Raonic lost to Harry at the USO this year, I stopped thinking of Raonic as a potential slam winner, but maybe in three years when Djoko and Murray are safely on the decline.
And Hartt, it doesn’t look good for Nishi to push Djoko down as a I write, 6-1, 2-0. And another thumbs up for having Jimmy Arias announcing match on TC. Always like Arias’s takes on matches and players.
Dan Markowitz · November 19, 2016 at 4:28 pm
Nishi might go entire match without holding serve. Incredible.
Scoop malinowski · November 19, 2016 at 4:48 pm
This was possibly the best match Milos has ever played. And Murray is at his peak now too. Epic battle. Murray played a genius point to save the match. Raonic was not slow today. Raonic took a large step forward today despite the heartbreaking outcome. I hope Raonic realizes that.
Hartt · November 19, 2016 at 6:05 pm
OK, here goes my Raonic defense. I did not think he was slow today. Murray had him running from side to side in a lot of points and he was getting to most of those. His movement will never be his strong suit but he has improved it dramatically and continues to improve.
The smile at the handshake was probably wanting to show good sportsmanship. As Scoop often says, Milos tends to hide his feelings. (But Scoop, do you think he is getting better at expressing himself on court?) Imagine he was extremely disappointed to lose such a close match. His usual reaction is to want to work even harder.
With the USO match against Harrison he had extreme cramping in several parts of his body. Even his hands; he said it got so that it was hard to hold his racquet. This was very unusual, he does not normally have problems with cramping and I’m not sure he even knew what caused it, outside of feeling pressure. But, as far as I know, this has not happened before or since that particular match.
I was shocked at how poorly Kei played today. Yes, Novak was in good form but a top player like Nishikori should be able to respond to Novak’s level better than that.
Hartt · November 19, 2016 at 6:31 pm
Just on the radio – Milos commenting on the match: “I’m pretty sure I’ll feel like crap tomorrow.”
Scoop malinowski · November 19, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Milos is all class. He takes bitter losses well. On court. Who knows about after. Im sure he admired Andys herculean effort today. How could anyone not? I like very much how Milos is showing fire and fury and how much he wants it. Im sure he read my tweets of my articles. I believe fans will help him more now by giving mote support. Fans know he has suffered enough and deserves to win a major in 2017.
catherine bell · November 20, 2016 at 4:14 am
Dan –
As a general point I don’t we should read too much into people’s reactions at the net.
Some players are schooled in the polite reaction, whatever their true feelings are. Some are a less controlled.
Some, if they know each other very well and have played often, might seem a bit casual.
It’s like commentators going to great lengths to interpret the kiss or not kiss in women’s matches : )
catherine bell · November 20, 2016 at 4:33 am
More on the net approach 🙂
I’ve noticed Simona and Angie Kerber give each other a sort of air kiss and if you know the back story, that Angie is the player Simona most wants to beat (she said recently her loss to Kerber at W’don was the most disappointing of her whole year) then that encounter seems to express their feelings pretty well.
Will have the telescope out if they meet at AO 🙂
Dan Markowitz · November 20, 2016 at 6:09 am
Catherine,
A certain bad sportsmanship has to take hold of a true champion player. You look at all the great champions of this era:
Federer–pissy when he loses; snaps at umpire from time to time.
Nadal–takes the injury time outs at crucial times to break opponents’s momentum.
Murray–a real pisser. The champion moaner and groaner of any era in tennis. He’s the British Jeff Tarango except his wife is British and not French and isn’t crazy like Tarango’s ex was. Look under the dictionary and for the definition of “mope,” you’ve got Murray’s mug.
Djokovic–Another Grim Reaper. The guy can and actually has yelled at crowds for not supporting him and also like Murray, likes to mug and spit antipathy at his box.
So Raonic doesn’t have this some would say “fire” and others would say, “bad behavior.” Don’t give Murray who’s been acting like a heel a big smile and “Aw, you’re the greatest and I knew I was going to lose” smile at the end of the match. Look him in the eye with your best, “You were mighty lucky there, lad” look and stop acting like you’re happy you lost because now you can go to the Tate Museum before you fly back to Canada.
Raonic and Nishi, also for that matter, are both to complacent when they lose. They got to stop that if they want to be big time champions. No one at the top of the tennis game, maybe Wawa is the exception today, acts well on the court during tense moments and even Wawa has left his wife and daughter for a woman more than ten years his junior so of course he’s done reprehensible things too (and that’s why he became a champion in the first place).
You think, say, Jimmy Connors would’ve been a champion if he was just another milquetoast young gent from East St. Louis?!
catherine bell · November 20, 2016 at 8:05 am
Dan –
We don’t know what was going on in Milos’ head – he may be the type of person who can hide his feelings pretty well. Inside he could be pretty churned up and although he might go off to the Tate he won’t neccessarily have a song in his heart 🙂
(Milos lives in Monaco I believe)
BTW Wawrinka’s marriage was on the rocks before he left. His womanising was well known and I don’t at all accept a connection between serial infidelity and being a champion.
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 8:54 am
Steph Myles reported on Yahoo Sports that Milos had red eyes and was sniffly when he arrived at the post match press conference. “It shouldn’t be a surprise if he had let out a whole lot of reigned-in emotion at the conclusion of that match – at the conclusion of a season where he battled his health as much as he did the best players in the world.”
Scoop Malinowski · November 20, 2016 at 8:55 am
Dan: Wawrinka threw his Yonex in a rage when Andy got the first break in their first set -Stan still seethes on court –
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 9:07 am
Another statement from the Steph Myles piece: “Raonic could smile at the net when it was over, because he gave it every little bit that he had – and then some.” This reminds me of the epic match between Raonic and Tsonga at the 2012 Olympics. The third set, won by Tsonga, went 25-23 games. At the net both players had huge smiles, they knew they had given it their all.
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 9:19 am
We were talking earlier about having tourneys that featured young players. The ATP is having a new tourney, Next Gen ATP Finals, just before the WTF in Nov. The top 7 players, 21 and under, plus a wild card, will compete in Milan.
There will be a prize pool of $1.25 million, but no ranking points. The ATP hopes this will help raise the profiles of the “Next Gen” players. They also plan to experiment with “a number of rule changes and innovations.”
Stefan Edberg is quoted as saying the tourney is a good idea, that he took part in a similar event, a “Young Masters” tourney in 1985.
Scoop Malinowski · November 20, 2016 at 9:26 am
Raonic can be proud – he knows he forced Andy to earn it – he pushed Andy a lot father than he wanted or expected to be pushed –
Scoop Malinowski · November 20, 2016 at 9:27 am
Stefanos Tsitsipas dad talked about this Under 21 event in Italy at the US Open Hartt: Great event and great opportunity for young players to earn $ and recognition – Surely this event will be a huge success –
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 10:03 am
I agree, Scoop, think this sounds like a great idea. There is so much emphasis on the top guys that many excellent players get overlooked. Those of us who follow the younger guys know there are several terrific young players who soon will have break out seasons. Plus a couple, like Sascha Zverev, who are there already.
I wish the media talked more about a variety of players, the way you do here. There are so many fascinating stories, but fans need to hear more of them. We don’t really need stories on Rafa’s latest hair cut. 🙂
catherine bell · November 20, 2016 at 10:32 am
Hartt –
I saw mention of that tournament for younger players and I’m afraid I line up with those who don’t think it’s such a great idea.
Not sure playing your peers in this age group will do a lot to advance careers – at that stage you really should be out on the pro tour competing with the best, not swimming around in shallower pool.
( to mention a parallel with cricket, as sport only I follow here no doubt, there’s a young batsman from Lancashire, 19 yrs old, and instead of letting him wallow in lower grade and under-21 games they sent him straight on the current Indian tour, in at the deep end, and he has done very well)
And it also sounds as if the ATP will use this sort of event to tamper with the rules.
As far as media discussion of players goes, as I’ve said before somewhere the mainstream media simply aren’t interested in any but the big names. They don’t sell papers etc and it’s only faithful and diehard fans who follow them, until that is, they become famous.
Websites can fill in here – but all these things, writing stories, doing research etc, cost money.
I confess I’m more interested in top players – on the whole there’s a lot more to say about them.
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 10:45 am
As I understand it, this tourney won’t affect who these players compete against until the tourney itself. So it will probably include guys like Sascha Zverev, Khachanov and Fritz who are already doing well on the main tour, plus several who are at or near the top 100. At the press conference the player in attendance was Tiafoe who has the kind of backstory the ATP wants to use to increase interest. I understand it is difficult for the main media to cover stories on the younger players but, in the US at least, Tiafoe should make a great subject.
Probably this tourney won’t generate a lot of interest about those players until closer to the event but at least the ATP is trying.
I am not a fan of big changes in the rules of tennis but the powers that be are going to experiment with that in any case, so this may be the best scenario for trying out changes.
catherine bell · November 20, 2016 at 11:26 am
If some of these guys are doing well on the main tour why do they need a special tournament ?
Seems to me it’s diluting competitiveness.
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 11:58 am
Think the main idea is to increase their profiles, to get media stories about them so when these players do start to win tournaments they will have a fan base, or at least people already interested in them. And I suppose it gives the players who don’t have high enough rankings to play in tourneys like the Masters the opportunity to play in a big tournament, with serious prize money and, hopefully, exposure.
catherine bell · November 20, 2016 at 12:49 pm
Hartt –
Here’s a question I’ve often wanted to ask:
What if you’re a successful player, with sponsorships and endorsements etc but you don’t have a ‘fan base’ ?
What difference would it make ?
You could be No 1 in the world and score low on ‘fan’ appeal. This has happened.
Fans are fickle and sometimes have peculiar reasons for their choice of faves, as we know well from the internet.
I appreciate tennis these days is a fan driven sport but occasionally I wish it wasn’t.
Scoop Malinowski · November 20, 2016 at 3:06 pm
Catherine: A lot of these young players need $$$ – this tourney is an opportunity to earn $$$ -junior careers are very expensive as are early struggle years in ATP –
Scoop Malinowski · November 20, 2016 at 3:08 pm
Catherine: Fans help uplift a player when he needs it – fan support is a key factor and it really helps – any player will tell you this –
catherine bell · November 20, 2016 at 3:14 pm
Scoop –
Yes – your comments accepted – maybe I look at too much internet ****.
But I’ve attended matches where the best player and winner had pitiful crowd support and I’ve felt sorry for them 🙂
Wonder how Djoko feels tonight ? Was over real quick.
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 3:37 pm
That was so unexpected. I would never have predicted that Murray would have an easy win over Djokovic.
But I was very happy with the outcome – Andy at No. 1 and also Milos at No. 3.
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 4:00 pm
As far as fans go, imagine it is important to the ATP and WTA. They want people buying tickets to the tourneys and watching them on TV. Fans are more likely to do that.
I wonder, too, if in today’s environment, that sponsorships and endorsements may be affected by a player having a lot of fans.
I am not defending the emphasis on fans, just saying why they are seen as important.
Scoop Malinowski · November 20, 2016 at 4:19 pm
Catherine: It was not a quick win or an easy one – great battle today – Andy was relentless and near perfect – and I would say his physical advantages are the difference – he’s a heavyweight and Nole is a light heavyweight physically –
Scoop Malinowski · November 20, 2016 at 4:21 pm
Hartt: That was not an easy win by Andy – and interestingly Raonic gave Andy the tougher battle – Raonic deserves part credit for this Andy win as he got Andy perfectly ready – Further proof that Raonic will pass Djokovic and catch Andy next year?
Hartt · November 20, 2016 at 4:46 pm
The match did seem to be over quickly. And yes, Andy did play very well. Darren Cahill talked about Andy being “match hardened” and I think that was important for today’s victory.
As far as next season, it is hard to know how both Novak and Milos will do. I have already done my predictions for next year. It is a fun exercise and something I don’t take all that seriously, just like to see if I get any right. For 2016 I had Milos at No. 5, so he exceeded my expectations. But I had Fed and Rafa at 3 and 4, and there was no way to predict how much time they would lose from injuries. So take them away and I was right about Milos!
For next season I had Andy at No. 1 and Novak at 2 and Milos at 3. So am not ready to demote Novak just yet.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 2:12 pm
Hartt, I think Milos is ready.
Andrew Miller · November 21, 2016 at 2:14 pm
Stephan Ts. is good. Future of tennis is in good hands with Tiafoe, Tsis, Shapovalov.
Notice I dont mention Fritz. But he will be there too.