Milos Raonic dispenses Marc Gicquel in the opening round - Wimbledon Championships 2011
Canadian hopes kept alive in Wimbledon Championships when the world number 25, Milos Raonic, outclassed Marc Gicquel of France in the opening round on Monday afternoon to move into the second round of the tournament.
The 31st seed Canadian wrapped up victory in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-3, taking just one hour and thirty six minutes of play to end Gicquel’s voyage at the third Grand Slam tournament of the running year.
Raonic kept the games short and professional, cruising through the sets very quickly to register a remarkable victory to his name. The 20-year-old devastated his opponent in the opening set but had to work his way through the second
set to get a commanding position in the competition. He then wound up the third set with ease to book a spot in the second round draws of the Grand Slam tournament.
The contest was played on the grass court of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, with Raonic dominating the game most of the time. The young Canadian delivered 66 per cent of his serve on
target and banged 25 rapid aces toward the opponent’s court.
Gicquel registered just 23 winners in the matchup, while Raonic secured 41 elegant winners all over the French court en route to victory. The agility of Canadian was worth watching, as he traced most of the occasional drop shots
from his opponent with great anticipation, converting them into smarty cross-court winners.
The Canadian got hold of the contest right from the start, as he clinched all the 15 first serve points and fired nine aces in the opening set. He converted his second break opportunity to get into the lead and then went on to
serve out of the set at 6-3.
After dropping the opener in a poor manner, Gicquel finally gathered some pace in the following set and held his serve in all the games. Raonic belted 10 more aces in the second set but couldn’t break his opponent this time round.
A tie breaker was imposed when the scores got tied at 6-6 and the French failed again to stand up to the task, losing the second set at 6-7(3).
The dejected French kept spilling out errors in the third set as well, with Raonic inching closer to victory with his aggressive game play. The Canadian eventually broke his opponent’s serve to seal victory for him at 6-3, earning
a place in the second round, where he will play against Luxembourger wildcard entrant Gilles Muller.
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