Milos Raonic will be trying to book a spot in his first-ever Grand Slam final when he takes the court at the Australian Open on Friday. Standing in his way is four-time Aussie Open runner-up Andy Murray.
Andy Murray and Milos Raonic will be going head-to-head for the seventh time in their careers when they square off in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday night. They have split their six previous encounters at three wins apiece, and they are 2-2 against each other on hard courts. Their most recent showdown came last spring on the clay courts of Madrid, where Murray prevailed 6-4, 7-5.
That was the last time Raonic played until Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, as he missed the rest of the clay-court swing because of minor foot surgery. He never got entirely back in gear throughout the remainder of 2015, slumped to 14th in the world, and failed to make a second consecutive trip to the World Tour Finals. Now healthy and with a new coach in Carlos Moya on board, Raonic is positively on fire to begin this season. The Canadian beat Roger Federer for the Brisbane title and he is still undefeated following Melbourne victories over Lucas Pouille, Tommy Robredo, Viktor Troicki, Stan Wawrinka, and Gael Monfils. Raonic upset Wawrinka in five sets and held off Monfils in four on Wednesday night.
Never a rarity, Murray has been a roller-coaster of emotion throughout this fortnight. But for the most part his progress on the tennis court has been straightforward. The second-ranked Scot punched his ticket into the last four by taking out Alexander Zverev, Sam Groth, Joao Sousa, Bernard Tomic, and David Ferrer. Only Sousa and Ferrer managed to steal the second sets of their respective contests, but Murray quickly restored order to the proceedings each time.
“I think I played well today,” Murray said after beating Ferrer. “I think today was probably the best match I played, especially in the second and third set. I started hitting the ball better from the back of the court.”
That is where the No. 2 seed will have an obvious edge over his adversary on Friday, even though Raonic has improved his movement and baseline game. Murray also traditionally feasts on huge servers who showcase a more one-dimensional game than others. He is also an expert at changing the direction of the ball during points, especially with his down-the-line backhand, which exploits opponents that are not especially fleet of foot. Murray is 4-1 lifetime in Aussie Open semifinal matches, with his only loss having come to Novak Djokovic in a 2012 five-set classic.
Pick: Murray in 4
[polldaddy poll=9288305]
who ya got?
ANOTHER GAME FOR MILOSH!!!!!
(in five)
Murray in 4
(probably)
Wow. A poll I almost missed.
My vote is for Andy Murray. I’m very impressed with Milos. very. Just can’t predict which Andy comes out or pick Milos over Andy yet. Picked Stan to beat Milos and saw how that went. That could happen again. And, have been wondering if the winner of this match just might win the title.
(probably not)
If the version of Milos who played Monfils showed up then Andy in 4.
I hope the version of Milos who played Stan showed up…
Milos in 5 is my final prediction!
A vote for Milos is a vote for Hawkstradamus! hehehe…
Another vote for Milosh!!!!!
As I said before rc, what’s a single pool point between two Nostradami.
#StickaForkInMeImDone
It’s a little more than a single point, hawkie (game rules) = 12 points for each correct SF’s pick and 20 points for each correct final’s pick. The one point per pick was only for the first round. At this point, if Andy beats Milos, two Andy Murray brackets, formerly toiling at or near the bottom of the pool, move up to the top five.
The 4 remaining scenarios and Pool Standings:
http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/TheGrandstand2016/pool/whatif.aspx
Picking Vika to win AO didn’t work for me, either.
It will all be very different next time.
I’m aware but I think you missed my point.
(or if Andy wins, I missed by a point.)
Do you?
Murray in four. Raonic won’t play as well as he did against Stan cuz it’s the semis. Then Murray will proceed to lose bad to Djoker. I feel like I’ve heard this before.
Raonic has to play way better than he did against Gael
I agree. Raonic must do more against Murray. Murray is not Monfils! No offense meant to Monfils, who I happen to like a lot. But Murray has more weapons, a great ROS, great movement and outstanding defense, his backhand and also happens to be mentally stronger than Monfils. He is a whole different kind of opponent.
I am sticking with my pick of Murray in 4 sets.
i agree pretty much nny. however much he has improved i don’t see milos beating andy unless andy is having one of his off days. andy actually seems to get fired up and focussed against the big servers where he can really show off his great ros and that helps him not to fall into the passivity we all know he can be capable of. he has too much variety in his game for milos and his backhand is a big weapon.
andy better not have a bad serving day though and have to rely on his horrible second serve…
Would love to see Milos win this, but am predicting Andy in 5. Mainly because Andy has been in something like 18 Slam SFs and Milos has been in 1 – that extra experience should make a difference. But I think Milos will have a great season and could well win a Slam – either Wimbledon or the USO.
The foot surgery last May had a big impact on his season – he came back too soon to play Wimby and had other physical problems as a result, so I don’t think last year was a good indication of how he can play – think his good start this year is a better predictor.
huge impact
Other things being equal I would go for Andy in 4 sets but it all hinges on Kim. Or to be more precise their baby. Any hint the child might decide to arrive early and Andy will be chartering a private jet to get back to England. Either way it cant help but be a distraction for him if he gets to meet Djokovic in the final.
Murray in 4 7-6 6-4 3-6 7-5
I just hope both of them play good tennis. Can’t stand another lopsided match…
Milos must bring the game he displayed against Wawa, otherwise Andy will beat him easily…I still hope he wins, although I don’t mind Andy winning…
Neither one of them can beat Nole…
Both Novak and Serena might as well lift the trophies before they even step on court…
this AO needs a great match
what has the best match been? Monfils-Robert? LOL.
This one. So far…
Andy will do well enough to overcome a tough challenge. Muzzole final
I hope Murray wins. I’m real tired of hearing how wonderful Milos thinks he is and all the “opportunities” he’s going to create. Argggg matey, enough!
I’m enjoying this! Milos started fast, got the 1st set and Muzz is not amused. Andy’s all in this 2nd set – not going to let this go. Milos is being pressured and over-hitting and not as sharp volleying but it’s a still a tight contest. Muzz is creating break opportunities… Milos saving them.
First signs of calm disruption. Andy manages to lob him!
Milos talking – looking at his team more.
WOW. Milos forehand found some angles Andy could not get. It’s a crucial game for Milos to hold serve at 4-5.
Toughest hold yet – Milos makes it 5-5. Love the mental battle 😀
Milos is so good at the net its so difficult to pass or lob him. He really timed his moves forward so well and S&V at the right time. His groundstrokes have improved so much – the angles he was able to hit – he has turned into a formidable player. He’s much more watchable these days.
tiebreaker looming
Exactly. Much more watchable. Ohhhh this is a set point/break point for Andy!
Milos so much deserved to lose this set…spreading errors all over the place…
He can’t beat Andy playing like this…
Yep, natashao. Andy made him more uncomfortable serving – trying to hold serve than Stan did. It’s a different kind of pressure from Andy.
Andy could runaway with it…Muzz looking more comfortable.
Milos responds with a strong service hold. Good stuff
yeah, you can sense Andy is less pressured right now…Milos OTOH isn’t playing well to begin with…he can not sustain rallies with Andy but keeps on doing it…while I admire his improved confidence in this area where he looks to be more comfortable engaging into rallies I think he will be toasted by Andy who likes this kind of game…Milos should stick to his S&V game, shorten the points and going for the easy winners…instead I see Murray doing it… 🙂
quick holds now
I admire Andy’s mental ability to solve the puzzle quickly – his experience no doubt is the advantage. Stan was relying on hitting Milos off the court more – which didn’t work for a number of reasons.
20 to be exact
Clever serving from Milos – that was better.
Andy responds with seconds serves but Milos can’t capitalize. Andy’s second serve a little better than usual? Or…
This has the making of a five-setter – Milos is not backing off. Good recovery after losing the 2nd set.
Andy in 4.
Hope you’re right about this
@ Ricky, 10:38 pm,
most likely!
Cheering for Milos like I never thought I would.
you beat me to it! I was just gonna write about it… 🙂
It’s weird. Couldn’t have imagined cheering for Milos when watching him vs LaMonf!
Huge hold
Break chance for Milosh…
Andy saves it!
Cheering Milos…to get this set. Cheering for 5 sets more than anything, I think.
I really think Milos must win the third set to win this match. If the match is extended to five sets I think Murray will win it.
Yep
you never know. Murray is not Djokovic..
Murray can outlast Raonic in the fitness dept in the fifth set.
this match is not taxing on the body…mainly serve and shorter rallies…I don’t think any of them are tired…However, Andy has advantage in the mental part…and huge experience in this kind of matches…
MTO
nats, agree. It’s more mental. For the most part, Milos is staying to the plan and avoiding the rallies that Andy would win…
Andy holding up under the pressure to hols serve, serving from behind this set
I’d forgotten what a rollercoaster it can be cheering for Murray. Bloody hell it’s a tiebreaker.
hahaha that milos overhead catching the line!
That was stupendous!
POKER FACE wins the third set!
Bravo!
Ajde Milose!!!
lols.. 😀
Are you not entertained, people?
SO most of you were thinking this would be not too troublesome for Murray. I am not at all surprised….kind of expected. But yeah, I still think Murray in 5 is a good possibility.
“UNDEFEATED IN 2016!”
This sounds so powerful! 🙂
Murray got his back against the wall now. 🙁
Raonic is so laid back it’s getting on my nerves…………………..
MTO Raonic??? What?
If he has an injury then he SHOULD lose! I don’t want a walk over for Novak in the finals!!! Although it might be the case anyway… 🙂
So many bad calls going against Raonic…
one, to be exact
Diddy can’t count.
Do you?
but it was bad
true…
Way to go Andy!
Raonic can play his forehands quite early as well…look how he stepped in to hit an inside in forehand winner when he had murray out of position.This set will be 6-4 Murray but the 5th one, is literally 50-50 or may be 53-47 Murary. I don’t think Raonic will be worn out. His brand of tennis has that advantage.
Wow, disastrous errors leaking off Murray’s racket there! and he is screaming.
That celebration from Andy when he saved a break point 😀
Hewitt
hahahaha…
Milos not converting break points will cost him a match…Now Murray has mental edge over Milos…and Milos having that nagging groin pain will make it harder to move…this is all over for Milos but he really did a great job and had his chances…
He did, natashao. This has been a good fight.
Thinking the groin injury is real. So, it does come down to fitness…maybe.
GO for the kill here Muzz! get the double break
Bravo Milos for the effort. Impressive. I’ve had right groin injuries – it’s not easy to move/lift your leg. I’m feeling for him.
yep…me too…
does anyone have a link to our pool?
http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/TheGrandstand2016/pool/standings.aspx
But they won’t update it for….hours.
So here it is… Andy overcomes the hurdles and we have a Muzzole Final!
I think Novak is enjoying this 🙂 This Murray is not taking a set from Novak that’s for sure!
Never say never. I think he will take a set.
#SetGOAT
You don’t know that for sure either!
pity Milos got injured….but what a tournament it has been for him. He will win a slam soon…
unless he is troubled with injuries like Delpo…it looks like injuries may become his main obstacle…
Toughest player you’ve ever faced in your career
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGy0x3KKc6c
#GloryDays
#Nostalgia
Carlos Moya has room for improvement.
Will arrival of baby get good fortune for Murray and get him his 1st?
Imagine Andy just wins AO and Kim just goes into labour after he wins 🙂
sanju, did you see this match? Andy was lucky that Milos got injured and failed to convert numerous break points…Andy’s level is lower than last year’s…Novak will just eat him up…
and what’s more Andy will have an excuse ready: “you know hmm.. my wife hmmm..will be in the labour any time soon so hmm…it was impossible to focus today and against Novak one must be 100 % So I congratulate him”… 🙂
Yes saw the match.
Novaks level is lower too.
Murray may not have been at his very best but then, neither has Djokivic been in this tournament either. Nole played badly against Simon and Nishikorim, so don’t assume it will be a cake-walk in the final. In spite of Raonic getting an injury later, Murray may still have won that match. No one really knows, but fitness is a part of tennis as well as skill….
Murray deserves a AO as he has been in 4 finals.
moot
so milos was up 2 sets to one and got injured? very disappointing for him. seems like andy got lucky. although maybe he would have fought back and won anyway, who knows? not the way you want a match to be decided in any event.
feel sorry for milos, he seems to get injured a lot.
Please folks let not assume Andy won just because Milos got injured. 5th set yes was walk in park but 4th I don’t think Milos was that compromised.
i highly doubt that Raonic would have won that match at 100 percent
but we’ll never know, so not much point in discussing it
Most including you probably thought the same at the start of the fifth set against Stan.
Could have definitely gone either way with Murray being a favourite but far from a lock.
^^^that!
Yup.
Ricky JANUARY 25, 2016 AT 6:42 AM
when Stan points to the head, you might as well retire
Why are we not accepting the fact that Novak is winning everything as his primary 2 rivals are not what they are any more. He hardly won anything when they were in their peak and after his stellar 2011..2012-2014 ..he hardly dominated because Rafa was still around strong and Fed/Murray were stronger too in pockets.
Between 2012-2014 Rafa won 4 slams..novak just 3 and murray 2.and rafa did not even play all 12..he missed 3..so he won 4/9 and lost 2012 AO narrowly and got injured in 2014 AO..
Novak is dominating yes but clearly making full use of depleted rivals.
I don’t think anyone would deny that but it’s a combination of both.
Rafa was pretty much peak in 2011 (albeit he made strategic adjustments against Nole in 2012). Rafa made it to three finals winning the French obviously and losing twice to Nole. He’s only ever made it to three finals twice.
Nole also suffered a letdown after 2011 which he recognized was largely mental and therefore hired Becker.
Nole would have beaten any version of Federer yesterday.
So, yes, a combination.
So what would you have Novak do? Just lose to make Rafa fans happy? That’s what sport is about. If your biggest rival isn’t able to do well enough to beat you or even get there to play you, then what is to be done? It sounds like we should blame Novak for still winning!
I just don’t get that at all. Novak is still doing what he should be doing. Playing well and staying mentally strong so that he has the best chance to continue to win. It’s up to his rivals to be at their best to try and beat him.
Nobody is blaming him. Please understand the message.
He is doing what he is supposed to do..WIN..but is hughely helped by the fact that his primary 2 rivals are missing in action the way they were till 2014..Its not Novaks fault but fact is he is also lucky to have both of them waning.
Imagine the shock if Murray sneaks a win. I know chance less than 5% but what if it happens
believe me I would love to see it…tennis needs to be more competitive…I was so happy when Delpo won USO…
Both on ATP and WTA we have two persons dominating and I dislike it completely…I will cheer for both Murray and Kerber but there is no way really either one of them will do much…
Yep true. It’s just like 2004-2007 when no one could challenge Fed’s dominance.
At least during 2008-2010 when Rafa was at the top, there’s Novak there in 2008 to challenge for the no.2 position vs Fedal; in 2009 there’re Fed and Delpo when Rafa was injured and in 2010, Fed was there winning the AO and Novak was on the upward trajectory of his career from Wimbledon onwards.
Novak’s dominance now is so comprehensive that it leaves no room for true competition, just like Serena’s. It doesn’t help when there’re no promising youngsters to challenge the old guards not to mention taking over from them.
The purest interpretation I’ve read of what has happened. Not demeaning anyone, respecting all, very fair and true.
I won’t be shocked. If Murray plays with the right strategy and drags Novak to five sets anything can happen.
Novak will come out all guns blazing just like he did against Rafa at Doha and Fed here. His strategy vs his main rivals is simple – plays aggressive tennis to win the first two sets, takes a breather in the third and then focuses on winning the fourth.
He did that to Rafa at Wimbledon and USO 2011 and did that to Fed here. I feel both Rafa and Fed made the mistake of feeding Novak with pace, trying to overpower or outhit him. They won’t succeed from the baseline.
The old Murray would feed Novak with junk balls, off pace shots, and then varied the pace of his shots and kept Novak guessing, like at Rome 2011 SF for eg.
The current Murray always tries to overpower Novak from the baseline and hence he lost 9 out of 10 matches against Novak. He’s not going to win this AO if he continues to play this way.
hahahaha…in slides the poll
Nole in 3. but I voted 4.
extra set as insurance?! i really really want nole to win this so am too scared to make a prediction…
mm, I dunno. I voted 3 for Nole over Fed. It would have been 3 but Fed did surprise me a little.
Andy might have a set – yeah, it’s insurance, I guess. If I knew for sure I’d be famous and in demand.
talking of predictions does this andy win mean that rising phoenix wins the pool??
am sure there is something sneaky and dastardly going on if he does..
#insider trading
Yes. Ricky has a lock on #1. Shady bizness,indeed, amy! That’s our pool!
i always win!
very shady rats! is there any point in taking part if a certain someone is always going to win??!!
Nole in three (unless he has a letdown like he did against Fed in which case, four).
Do you?
Definitely Nole in 3!
I guess the smart pick is Novak winning in 3 sets. But I am thinking that surviving the five setter might give Murray a boost. I still think he can get a set. I would love to see him win, but I think Novak is just too good and too determined right now.
Murray will have to come out playing his best if he wants to have a chance.
What I want to know is whatever happened to Nole’s threat that tennis would no longer be his his No 1 priority: in future it would be his wife and son!!!
how do you know it isn’t
just been reading some articles saying that they reckoned that milos would have won if he hadn’t got injured…(i didn’t see the match)
of course that’s unknowable..but it’s very sad that the injury was such a factor in terms of the outcome..