Milos Raonic ousts Jesse Levine to secures third round berth – French Open 2012
Canadian top ranked, Milos Raonic, dragged down the American qualifier, Jesse Levine, in straight sets at the Roland Garros 2012 on Thursday. He penned down a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory against the world number 131 to charge into the
third round at this second of the four Grand Slam event held in Paris, France.
The 19th seeded Raonic stayed in the game throughout the battle and eventually carved out the victory in one hour and 56 minutes. Meeting each other for the first time, the Canadian not only took lead in the FedEx ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against Levine but also advanced into the round of 32.
"I'm feeling good," Raonic was quoted. "I'm feeling pretty confident. Still figuring out a few things. [A] few things I would have wished I had done better serving. Trying to dictate a bit more, especially in that second set. I
did better in the third. I know I'm playing well. I know I'm hitting well."
Raonic made a dismal start at the Court number Three and suffered the first blow in the second game to fall at 0-2. However, he made a spectacular reply and reeled off the following four games in a row to go 4-2 up. The Canadian
then held his remaining serves with poise and clicked the opener by winning six games to four.
Ranked 22nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Raonic kept momentum floating into the proceeding set. He swiftly plucked his entire serves without facing any trouble. The youngster got the breakthrough
in the 11th game and pulled out the set with a 7-5 score line.
The 21-year-old perfected his form in the third set and after breaking Levine’s serve twice early in the set, he leaped to a 5-1 lead. Raonic plucked his serve once more and pocketed the set with a 6-2 success.
All in all, the Canadian produced a lower first serve share of 55 per cent as compared to his rival’s 63 per cent and amazingly marked 39 out of 44 points on it. He also smashed 16 ferocious aces and fired 40 winners to conquer
the qualifier.
Next up for Raonic is the 13th seed, Juan Monaco, who stomped over Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol in straight sets to set up this meeting.
The French number one, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, will join the Canadian in the follow-up round. He overpowered Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in a four-set thriller to progress at this tournament.
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