Raonic’s Revenge: Veteran evens career series with Shapovalov after Cincinnati victory
CINCINNATI — Milos Raonic gained a measure of revenge against Denis Shapovalov on Thursday at the Western & Southern Open, beating the teenager 7-6 (6), 6-4 in a matchup of Canada’s top male tennis players.
Raonic won the third-round match on his first match-point opportunity when the big-serving veteran showed a little finesse at the net, feathering a shot past Shapovalov to win the match on a break and set up a quarterfinal matchup with the winner of a match between Novak Djokovic and defending champion Grigor Dimitrov.
It was the second head-to-head meeting between Raonic and Shapovalov. The first came in May at the third-round of the clay-court Madrid Open, with Shapovalov winning 6-4, 6-4.
It was a different story on the hardcourt at Cincinnati, and Raonic used his preferred surface to his advantage. The 27-year-old form Thornhill, Ont., had 12 aces to just two for Shapovalov. Raonic won 75 per cent of his service points and had seven break point opportunities, converting two.