Washington, D.C. final preview and pick: Raonic vs. Pospisil

It will be the first all-Canadian final in ATP history when Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil battle for the Washington, D.C. title on Sunday. Pospisil is hoping to lift an ATP winner’s trophy for the first time, as well.

Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when the two Canadians collide in the final of the Citi Open on Sunday afternoon.

Raonic won their only previous ATP-level encounter 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) last summer in the Rogers Cup semifinals, but Pospisil leads the overall head-to-head series 3-2. Pospisil prevailed three times on the Futures circuit before Raonic got on the scoreboard with a Challenger victory in 2010.

Although he is actually one year older than Raonic at 24, Pospisil has not been on the professional scene as long and his run to the title match is far more surprising than that of his opponent. A back injury derailed the world No. 36’s start to the season, but he captured the Wimbledon doubles title with Jack Sock and has not looked back. Pospisil reached consecutive singles quarterfinals in Bogota and Atlanta, and so far this week he has taken out Rajeev Ram, Tomas Berdych, Santiago Giraldo, and Richard Gasquet.

Raonic, who has entrenched himself as a staple of the top 10, is a stellar 28-10 for the season. He made it to the French Open quarterfinals and the Wimbledon semis, a big reason why he will climb to a career-high of No. 6 in the world rankings on Monday. Remarkably consistent, Raonic has dropped his opening match of just one tournament during the 2014 campaign. The huge-serving Canadian booked his spot in the Washington, D.C. final by defeating Jack Sock, Lleyton Hewitt, Steve Johnson, and Donald Young all in straight sets.

Aside from being an obvious favorite according to seed and ranking, Raonic has a lot going for him heading into this showdown between compatriots. He has captured five ATP titles and has contested 10 finals. Pospisil, on the other hand, is competing in his first-ever ATP title match. Additionally, the 13th seed needed three sets to get past Giraldo in the quarters and Gasquet in the semis and the third set of his match with Giraldo had to be finished on Saturday due to rain. Raonic, who has spent far less time on the court, has the added benefit of more rest than his opponent.

Pick: Raonic in 2

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