Milos Raonic battled past Marcos Baghdatis in the second round – Western and Southern Open 2012.
Canadian number one, Milos Raonic defeated the Cyprus native, Marcos Baghdatis by 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Western and Southern Open Champions on Wednesday. The three-set match lasted for approximately
two hours, with Raonic improved his head-to-head lead by to 2-love over the Cypriot.
The opener started with Baghdatis serving first and picked the opening game to get 1-0. However, it immediately equalized to 1-1 from the other side. In the initial set, none of the contenders could break the others serve.
They struck winners one after the other and eventually the scores got deadlocked at six-all.
The tie-breaker round followed the similar format but after a fierce battle, it wrapped up in favour of Baghdatis. In the second set, the momentum changed and Raonic took the opportunity to take the lead. He roared and captured
the initial three games in set, framing the set to his advantage.
The Cypriot struggled hard to hold on but his serve received a declining trend and eventually he lost his confidence. The set ended with the Canadian taking it at 6-3 to level the match scores at one-all. The former world
number eight, Baghdatis, received a treatment for his chronic back and hip problem in the second set of the match before resuming play.
Raonic nudged his initial stand in the decisive set and his lead prevailed in a transcending fashion until the end. Finally, the 21-year-old snatched a break and jolted down his 6-4 score to claim the closing set and emerge
as the winner of the second round.
The Canadian contender conceded four double faults in the match, yet he had a high ace score of 22, which made the card to success to the next round. He had a high first serve percentage of 65, bagging 70 of the 107 points
on them.
Raonic will be competing against the Czech, Tomas Berdych in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters. Fifth seeded Berdych registered a 6-3, 6-4, win over Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round of the tournament.
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