The combination of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal landing on the same side of the draw, Stan Wawrinka going out early, and Andy Murray going out even earlier resulted in a lopsided BNP Paribas Open final on Sunday afternoon. Milos Raonic did, of course, have to the tools with which to trouble Djokovic–just as he does against anyone. But the Canadian did not and maybe was not able to use them in a 6-2, 6-0 loss.
Bothered by an apparent recurrence of an adductor injury that sidelined him in between the Australian Open and Indian Wells, Raonic fired only four aces and won a horrendous three of 30 second-serve points while succumbing in one hour and 17 minutes.
“I don’t think it affected my effort,” the Canadian commented. “I thought he played much better than I did. I struggled again, just like last time, to start the match well. He took the most advantage of that; he’s the best player in the world at this moment and a good step ahead of everybody.”
“I’m just glad to be able to raise the level of my game as the tournament progresses,” Djokovic noted, “and that’s something that I have been doing in the last two years particularly on the big events. I have been managing to win most of the big matches against top-10 players. Obviously I have a certain routine and certain preparation for these big matches that works for me, again. Everybody is different. I will try to follow that kind of routine and get myself in that state of mind where I’m able to get the best out of myself when it’s most needed.”
Djokovic-Raonic highlights:
Trophy ceremony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7qBbdAC2pY
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beatdown city
All credit to Djoko for what he’s achieving but I for one am NOT enjoying this. Wish someone would come up and start beating him.
I can’t argue with that sentiment.
Raonic was less than 100 percent
I don’t think anyone would argue that Raonic was not 100%.