Milos Raonic falls; Bernard Tomic stays on track at the AEGON International – Tennis News
Top seeded Milos Raonic saw the exit doors after bowing out to the Croatian veteran, Ivan Dodig, at the AEGON International 2013 on Wednesday. However, the Australian star, Bernard Tomic, outlasted France’s Julien Benneteau in
a three-set thriller to progress in the quarter-finals at this ATP World Tour 250 series event.
The Canadian number one, Raonic, displayed dismal performance at this Wimbledon warm-up tournament. As a result, Dodig not only took revenge of his loss at the AAMI Classic earlier this season but also took lead in the FedEx ATP
Head 2 Head series by 2-1 against the Canadian.
Raonic, who was making his debut at this tournament, commented in a post match presser, “I couldn't have started in a worse way. I think I missed four backhands to start off the match. I had my chance in the tie-break. But I don't
think I should let situations where I get two double faults from my opponent pass by and not win a tie-break. I can't play much worse, so it's only going to get better.”
The world number 15, Raonic, suffered the first blow in the opening game and went 0-2 down. He lost his serve again in the seventh game and suffered a 2-6 loss.
In the following set both players played carefully and held their respective serves. The set went to a tie-breaker where Raonic was underplayed against the Croat and subsequently endured a 6-7(7) defeat.
Dodig will now take on the eighth seed, Fabio Fognini, in the final eight.
The Australian rising star on the other hand recorded his first back to back win since early February. He was leading in the second set but managed to bag the victory in three sets in one hour and 52 minutes.
The 20-year-old reflected in a courtside interview after ruling the match, "I was up a lot. I should have probably finished that match maybe 6-2, 6-2, but he did a good job to break back. Today, I didn't focus at the right times,
but I was lucky to win in the end."
Tomic made strong start in Eastbourne. He drew the first blood in the fourth game and jumped to a 4-1 lead. The Aussie then held his serve with poise and availed another break chance in the last game to click the opener with a
6-2 win.
The former Top 30, Tomic lost his track afterwards and equalised the set scores. However, he found his rhythm in the deciding set tie-breaker and sealed the deal with a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(4) victory.
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