Two days after upsetting Stan Wawrinka in five sets, Milos Raonic will be back in action to face Gael Monfils in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Wednesday. The winner will run into either Andy Murray or David Ferrer.
Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they battle for a place in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Wednesday night. Monfils has won both of their previous meetings, but they have not faced each other since 2013. The Frenchman prevailed 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3 on the indoor hard courts of Stockholm in 2011 and 6-4, 6-2 on the grass of Halle two seasons later.
Now, however, Raonic is an established force at or near the top of the game. The Canadian currently registers 10 spots off his career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world, but that can be attributed almost entirely to a 2015 foot injury. He is back in business for 2016 and has arguably been the best player throughout the month of January. Raonic is a perfect 9-0 with a title in Brisbane (upset Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the final) and victories this fortnight over Lucas Pouille, Tommy Robredo, Viktor Troicki, and Stan Wawrinka.
Monfils benefited from Rafael Nadal’s early elimination when he faced Alex Kuznetsov in the fourth round and got past the Russian in four sets. The 25th-ranked Frenchman preceded that victory with straight-set defeats of Yuichi Sugita, Nicolas Mahut, and veteran compatriot Stephane Robert. This is Monfils’ first trip to the Australian Open quarters and just third appearance in the quarters of a major outside Roland Garros.
Although Monfils has no reason to apologize for having enjoyed an extremely favorable draw, the bottom line is Raonic is more battle-tested and simply playing better tennis–better than Monfils and almost anyone else. The 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist has been borderline unbreakable aside from during a brief hiccup during his five-set upset of Wawrinka. It is hard to see Monfils staying focused in enough service games to stay within serious striking distance of his on-fire opponent.
Pick: Raonic in 3
[polldaddy poll=9285436]
who ya got?
milos in 3
But can see Milos in 3 or Milos in 5. Hoping for another great match.
Voted Milos in 4.
The point is: doubt Monfils wins.
hard to see this new uber-specimen of s&v give up 2 sets to monfils’ showman antics however entertaining they may be…
Another game for MILOSH!!!!!!
Ahahahahahahahaha!!!!
Raonic in 4.
totally agree with this
Raonic looking like future #1 after this golden era.
Milos in 3
Milos in four
I am picking Raonic in four sets over Monfils. That’s head over heart. Because I would love to see Monfils win. Maybe with his new coach he will get himself together and learn how to best use his considerable talents.
Raonic is looking just too right now and will be feeling more confident after the victory over Stan.
Agree with those who say that Raonic is the heavy favourite here, am saying Milos in 4. Monfils can get a lot of balls back, but think Milos will keep his cool and continue his aggressive play.
Milos on Moya:
“I have an inability to sort of after matches are over to sort of switch off and relax completely. I think he can bring that calm to me. With the vast knowledge that he has, and he has great sort of sense of how to approach, how to talk to people, I think he can help me in those kind of different situations.”
I wish Rafa would add an ex-player to his team to help him find calm too.
Rafa has practiced with Carlos Moya since Rafa was 12 years old. The last time they practiced together was on December 28, 2015 in Manacor, Rafa’s hometown.
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RAFA: “Carlos is a close friend of mine.” [Rafa’s post-match press conference in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 2, 2016]
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CARLOS MOYA: “I know Rafa well… We’re good friends, we often eat together, and we trained together at Christmas.” [C.Moya’s interview in L’Équipe on Jan. 24, 2016]
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July 2013:
http://www.tennisworldusa.org/Rafael-Nadal-practiced-with-Carlos-Moya-in-Mallorca-articolo11763.html
augusta doesn’t get it.
Practise is not the issue.
Everybody knows these facts.
Moya would have been the correct choice.
#HostileTakeover
Certainly better than more practise.
Ricky (AT 6:35 PM),
Carlos Moya has provided free advice to Rafa since 1998. 🙂
He’s not on tour with him at his most anxious.
Not about practise and “going to dinner”.
Cleary not enough!!!!
Who’s Cleary?
Hawk doesn’t get it. The point is: Moya & Rafa are close friends, they are not strangers who would need
encouragement to meet each other. 😆
Moya is on the tour with Raonic.
Advising another player while under contract to Raonic would be unethical – regardless who he’s close friends with.
Milosh on Moya:
“I think he brings a lot of experience and understanding, but at the same time, he’s going to work very hard with me on court. He’s also going to give me that kind of calm and peace in moments where maybe I can’t find it on my own off the court and before the important matches.”
I wish Rafa takes his own advice about new coaches.
Rafael Nadal tips ‘amazing champion’ Carlos Moya to help Milos Raonic reach next level
http://www.thenational.ae/sport/tennis/rafael-nadal-tips-amazing-champion-carlos-moya-to-help-milos-raonic-reach-next-level
L’Équipe (a French newspaper devoted to sports) published an interview with Carlos Moya on Jan.24, 2016. I have posted questions & answers about Rafa. Here are some Q&A answers about coaching (translated from French by Mark Nixon):
¤¤ Question: “How many tournaments will you be at for him [Raonic]?”
CARLOS MOYA: “Fifteen weeks, including the four Slams. I didn’t want to be away from home too much. I have three young children. But I know everything will be done properly in my absence because he has a solid team around him, especially with Riccardo Piatti (ex-coach of Ljubicic and Gasquet).”
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Question: ” How many players asked you to coach them before Raonic?”
CARLOS MOYA: “A few. But either it wasn’t the right time, or they were asking me to travel too many weeks.”
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Question: “We’ve been hearing a constant rumor for the last two years about a Moya-Nadal team-up …
CARLOS MOYA: “That’s come from the media and John McEnroe…I’ve never looked to be a part of his team. We’re good friends…” ¤¤
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The article in L’Équipe in French:
http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Article/Carlos-moya-raonic-un-des-mecs-les-plus-pros/627555
I might not get your point but I severely doubt anyone else does either.
Maybe not even yourself.
So it’s going to be 4 sets as many of you predicted. lol
So it’s going to be 4 sets as many of you predicted. lol
just a matter of time before Raonic wins a slam title…
I am amazed at the improvement by Raonic. I had severely under-estimated him.
The contrast between the inscrutability of Raonic and the exhuberance of Monf is cracking me up 🙂
Raonic has the calmness in him that I find will help him in tight situations. He’s like Delpo I feel, with calm and composed demeanor.
Calm and composed like Delpo and that similar strength to get him through tight situations; but less affable. Ed calls it “the inscrutability of Raonic” and contrasts it with the “exhuberance of Monf”. That’s what I’m seeing. I don’t find Milosh as engaging as Delpo – at least the not the on-court persona.
But glad I woke up to catch some of this.
Spot on. There is a similarity I agree although I much preferred Delpo’s game.
bring back delpo! miss the gentle giant…much prefer him to milos..
Yes, me too ed. Feel the same.
Raonic is so good at the net. His groundstrokes have improved and his serve is so huge; he’s getting very hard to beat.
Quite a transformation, I’d say!
Ah, LaMonf…hard to watch. But no doubt about this Milos, wow. To the semifinal v Andy Murray! Might be good.
So Raonic wins it. Congrats to him and Moya. Moya looking very handsome there!
I think we will have a good SF between Raonic and Murray, a contrast in styles. Lets see how Murray deals with him.
Im glad that Raonic comes through as I think Monfils wont have a chance against Murray and Djoko/Fed as he’ll simply get exhausted vs them.
Monfils would have been pretty useless going forward…
Andy will have a very tough time with his vulnerable 2nd serve. Raonic is always looking to take initiatives in both service and return games so Murray will be defending and counterpunching a lot.
Raonic’s net game, not only volleying skills,but his whole transition game has become very formidable and he is improving. He will be an even bigger force at Wimbledon. His forehand is also getting better and better and so is his footwork. Because of massive firepower and because he can change direction of the ball with reasonable accuracy, he is able to win a good share of baseline rallies too.
I have a sneaky feeling that Milosh will overpower a somewhat distracted Murray.
won’t be surprised if that happens Ed. I don’t think Murray is a favorite to win this to be honest. Both have almost an equal chance. Murray’s strength will obviously be his world class ROS. Raonic will have to contend with a different level of returns on friday.