Milos Raonic cruises past Julien Benneteau to reach round two – Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2013
Canadian number one, Milos Raonic, eased past the French contender, Julien Benneteau, with a breadsticks at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2013 on Monday. He recorded a 6-1, 6-4 victory against the Frenchman to power into the second round at this Masters
1000 event taking place in Monte Carlo, France.
Seeded 12th in this event, Raonic showed brilliant skills to outclass the Frenchman. As a result he avenged his loss at the Davis Cup last season and lower trail in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 1-2
against Benneteau.
"I think it's a very good start. A lot of things I did well, especially only having a limited amount of preparation before here. Davis Cup was a very good thing, but it was also a very draining thing. It takes a lot of energy to get through that weekend.
So I was very happy with how I was able to prepare and play today. From the first year to last year to this year, it's not as much of a mental stress (adapting to clay). That's the biggest change. It still takes a lot of effort for the transition and everything."
Raonic went berserk after entering the match. He stroke out opening five games consecutively before Benneteau could hold on. The Canadian then held his serve once again and clicked the opener with a breadstick.
Currently ranked 15th in the Emirates Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Raonic kept momentum rolling in the proceeding set. He smoothly held his entire serves with conviction and got the breakthrough in the fifth game, eventually sealing the set
by winning six games to four.
The 22-year-old jolted down a lower first serve share of 48 per cent as compared to his rival’s 72 per cent but impressively marked 24 out of 28 points on it.
Next in queue for Raonic is the Finn star, Jarkko Nieminen, who crushed Serbia’s Viktor Troicki with a breadstick to set-up this battle.
The ninth seed, Marin Cilic, will accompany the Canadian in the second round. The Croatian challenger rallied past Horacio Zeballos in a three-set thriller to progress.
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