Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in round one of the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday.
Dimitrov leads the head-to-head series 3-1 and has won three straight at Raonic’s expense since dropping their first encounter 7-5, 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Stockholm in 2011. The Bulgarian later prevailed in 2013 (straight sets in Brisbane), 2014 (6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(10) at the Australian Open), and 2017 (straight sets again in Brisbane).
On paper Dimitrov is favored once again, with a current ranking of No. 4 in the world to Raonic’s 24th. The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion, however, has been mediocre of late–with a 6-6 record in his last 12 matches. He reached the Monte-Carlo semifinals but struggled along the way and got blown out by Rafael Nadal, and he is coming off a Barcelona quarterfinal loss to Pablo Carreno Busta.
Raonic has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and bad luck continued in Monte-Carlo, where he withdrew prior to a third-round matchup against Marin Cilic due to a knee injury. Encouragingly, though, the 27-year-old Canadian took care of solid clay-courter Nicolas Kicker 6-3, 6-2 on Monday in Madrid. Raonic has always been decent on clay and fast conditions have generally suited him well in Madrid, where he advanced to the quarterfinals in 2015 and 2016.
The former world No. 3 served at 73 percent against Kicker while firing 17 aces compared to only one double-fault. Anything close to those serving numbers should be enough for a minor upset of Dimitrov.
Pick: Raonic in 3
[polldaddy poll=9997680]
who ya got?
Dimi in three.
I like Grigor in 3.
Raonic in three
Raonic looks to be back to a good level, he’ll give Goffin or Sasha a run for their money if they get to meet.
A bit disappointed with Dimi’s loss, he can’t string a few wins to go deeper in tournaments these days, very inconsistent.
Dimi lost already? He really is the Prince of inconsistency these days.