Stefanos Tsitsipas and Milos Raonic will clash for the second time this year in a battle to reach the Cincinnati final. Raonic saved a match point against Filip Krajinovic in the quarters.
(4) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Milos Raonic
Sporting a new mane of unkempt hair, Canadian Milos Raonic has cut through the draw in Cincinnati this year with gusto. The world No. 30 had a promising start to 2020, with a quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open and a semi in Delray Beach before the hiatus. This week, he picked up where he left off in February.
Raonic had some trouble in the quarters on Wednesday with Filip Krajinovic, but he righted the ship in time to win 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 to set up Thursday’s showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitipas, ranked 6 in the world, had a patchy start to the 2020 season. The Greek ran into none other than Raonic in Australia, who sent the No. 4 seed packing in straight sets. Tsitsipas went on to win in Marseille and he made the final in Dubai, so he wasn’t exactly in bad form going into the shutdown.
The quarters were a bit anti-climatic for the 22-year-old. Opponent Reilly Opelka retired at 6-5 in the first set with a knee injury — thus Tsitsipas goes into Friday well-rested, while Raonic was on court for two hours and 40 minutes. Of course, the unexpected one-day break will help the Canadian.
The courts at the National Tennis Center are playing fast this week, which should give Raonic a bit of an edge with his monster first serve. And while their single career meeting is not a big enough data set to draw any conclusions about the matchup, the straight-set win in Melbourne was decisive enough to possibly give Tsitispas pause.
Cheryl pick: Raonic in 3
Ricky pick: Raonic in 3
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postponed until Friday
That Raonic matc vs Kvic was just an all out thriller….very high level of drama…and play, w/Kvic serving for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd. Raonic played great in that 2nd & 3rd set…..but still, Tsi in 2 on Fri.
TsiTsi in 3.
we both nailed it
(except 2 not 3)
Yup. Yay us.