US Open 2012: Andy Murray serves notice with ‘best match’ against Milos Raonic to reach quarter-finals
Andy Murray produced his “best match of the tournament” to beat Milos Raonic and book his place in the quarter-finals of the US Open.
By Telegraph Sport2:31PM BST 04 Sep 2012
Murray, through to the last eight at a major for the eighth time in succession, nullified the threat of the young Canadian’s booming serve and produced a serving master class of his own en route to a 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory.
The match had been billed as a test of Murray’s quick hands on return in the face of Raonic’s red-hot
deliveries, which at times broke the 140mph barrier. But after seeing six aces pass him by in Raonic’s first three service games, Murray gave up just eight more in the course of the match.
“You start to see things after a few games. He started serving a lot of big serves. I was just trying to react as quickly as possible," said Murray in an on-court interview at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"Sometimes they fly past you, sometimes you get a racket on them – and I got a racket on them."
Raonic's 14 aces were less than half as many as he had managed in his first three outings at Flushing Meadows this year. "I used a lot of variation tonight,” added Murray. “Milos has a huge game, massive serve.
“I had to guess on some of the serves. I got lucky a few times."
At this level, however, you make your own luck. Murray dismantled the threat posed by the 21-year-old, bidding to become Canada’s first Grand Slam quarter-finalist of the Open era, standing way behind the baseline to deal with deliveries that consistently arrived at more than 130mph."He took me out of the match," admitted Raonic. "Not too much I could do. He just did a lot of things too good today."
In contrast, Murray’s serving was exemplary. He won 20 of 24 points on his serve in the first set, served out the second with an ace, and ended things with a 129mph service winner. Raonic failed to muster a single break point on the Murray serve, while the Scot fashioned 12 of his own, taking four."Really important to serve well the deeper you go in the tournament," Murray said. "Conserves a lot of energy."
Those energy levels will be vital as Murray heads into the sharp end of the tournament still seeking his first Grand Slam.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic, who faces Stanislas Wawrinka in this fourth round match this evening, is yet to drop a set in the tournament, as is world No 1 Roger Federer, who was handed a walkover into the quarter-finals when American Mardy Fish withdrew for medical reasons. Fish was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat earlier this season.
Up next for Murray is Marin Cilic after the Croatian beat Martin Klizan, conqueror of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, 7-5 6-4 6-0.
"Really interesting for me. Another big challenge. Andy's obviously playing really well," said Cilic. "When I feel well, I feel I can match up with anybody."
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