2023-08-09 21:19:38
Milos Raonic continued his journey at the National Bank Open in Toronto by defeating Taro Daniel in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday afternoon.
This is the first time since March 2021 that Raonic has won back-to-back matches on the ATP Tour.
“There were some frustrating moments, but I didn’t give up and I created chances,” Raonic said. I was even a little surprised by the quality of my game. Looking ahead to the next match, the key will be to maintain a certain consistency. »
Both players had their moments in the first set, in which Raonic had the majority of his serve success.
The Canadian had two aces to win the first game and he had two more to take a 2-1 lead.
Daniel had a few winners himself and he took advantage of a few errors from Raonic to tie the game.
It took until the 10th game to see one player break the service of the other. Leading 5-4, Raonic won the set following two consecutive errors from Daniel.
In the second set, Raonic gave himself a 3-0 lead, earning the last point of that streak when Daniel sent a forehand out of bounds.
Serving for the match, Raonic sealed the match with his 15th and final ace of the afternoon, allowing the crowd at Sobeys Stadium to celebrate.
The 32-year-old Ontarian earned one of four tournament byes.
Raonic had only played four games before arriving in Toronto, having returned to the ATP Tour for the first time since June 2021. The former world number three missed playing time to recover from injuries to the Achilles tendon and the toe.
In the next round, Roanic will face Mackenzie McDonald, who beat Andrey Rublev in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.
It was the third duel between Raonic and the Japanese. On the first two occasions, Raonic had the best on hard courts in 2014 and 2018.
In the first round, Raonic got the better of Frances Tiafoe in an exciting clash that ended in a three-set victory of 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.
Gabriel Diallo loses his battle in the 2nd round
Quebecer Gabriel Diallo fought hard, but lost Wednesday against Australian Alex De Minaur in two sets of 6-4 and 7-5 in the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto.
Despite a 3-1 lead in the second set after breaking the 18th racket in the world, Diallo was caught on equal service.
De Minaur broke Diallo at 6-5 to then serve for the match. The Aussie grabbed his chance to finish the clash after a 1:49 battle.
The six-foot-eight giant had held his own in the first set, going as far as 4-4, before getting broken and losing the opening set.
At 21 and ranked 141st in the ATP, Diallo will have proven his worth this week in Toronto. After the first gain of his career on the ATP circuit against Daniel Evans (21st) on Tuesday, the Montrealer will have lost by holding his end throughout the duel against De Minaur.
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