Ivan Dodig dismisses Milos Raonic in three sets at the 2011 Barcelona Open
Croatian tennis pro Ivan Dodig defeated Milos Raonic of Canada in three lopsided sets at the 2011 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, upsetting the 20-year-old with a 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3 victory in the third round. The Croatian pro took
a little over two hours and fifteen minutes to undo his opponent, defeating Canada’s Number 1 player to qualify for the quarterfinals of the ATP World Tour Masters 500 event.
It must have been a difficult loss to take for Raonic, who has been flying high on one of the best ATP rankings jumps which the world has seen in recent years. The Canadian pro is currently ranked World Number 28, and has won twenty
of twenty-seven matches played so far in 2011. The player won his first title earlier this season, defeating Fernando Verdasco at the 2011 SAP Open to lift the trophy. Dodig himself won his first tournament earlier this year as well, scoring a win at the PBZ
Zagreb Indoors.
The Canadian player seemed disappointed by his performance, saying, “I wish I could have done better but I had a bad attitude. I let things get to me instead of looking for a way to win. I was not at all happy with my game and
it showed – I was frustrated.”
The player lost the first set in a rough contest with Dodig, as the players fought six service and return games apiece. He could not defeat the Croat, who took the lead with a 7-6(2) win in the opening set. This set alone lasted
for over an hour, and Raonic could not capitalize on his superior seeding. He tied the match 5 all but could not win the eventual tie-breaker.
However, Raonic managed a recovery in the second set by playing carefully, and challenging his opponent with his superior serve. The Canadian tennis player pushed the match into three sets by taking the second one 6-4. The third
set was a very easy one for the Croation pro, who kept Milos Raonic on his toes by breaking him twice. The World Number 56 managed to rush to a 5-1 lead in the match, before his opponent recovered from this shock and broke back to win two games. However, the
meeting was a lost cause for Raonic at this point, and Dodig took the set 6-3.
The Canadian player says, “He was getting to a lot of balls and staying calm as well. I have to stay level-headed and work on trying to win. It was little things in my game letting me down and I let them bother me. I need to step
back and not get angry, try to see the big picture in a match.
Milos Raonic will now make an appearance at the Estoril event in preparation for the upcoming French Open, while Ivan Dodig will stay at Barcelona to compete against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals of the event.
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