Rusty Federer Shakes Off Raonic

After a five weeks hiatus, Roger Federer opened his clay court campaign with a second round clash against the hottest youngest on the tour, i.e. Canadian powerhorse Milos Raonic, at the controversial Madrid Masters 1000. The event stirred deep waters after being hit by critics from players, including the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic trio, who complained that their opinion regarding the newly introduced blue clay was not taken into consideration, as the organizers went ahead with their plan despite their stiff resistance.

Besides trying to adjust to the unusual conditions, Federer had to also deal with a dangerous opponent, the Canadian coming off his best claycourt performance following a career's best victory over Andy Murray en route to reaching the semifinals in Barcelona. And with their previous meeting going the distance, Roger was destined for a tough day at the office.

While the Swiss was pretty rusty in his first match back, Milos showed plenty of stamina as he looked poised for a straight sets win. He broke decisively in the opening act at 4-4 to then bag the set with a convincing service display. However, by failing to take his chances in the second set, he allowed Federer to turn things around. The Swiss broke at 6-5 and leveled the dispute. Nevertheless, Raonic had plenty of opportunities again in the decider, but once more Roger fought them off pushing the match into a tiebreaker. At this point, his experience proved vital as he eventually succumbed the brave resilience of the young Canadian.
It was indeed a great challenge for the Swiss who, after escaping from the brink of defeat, now gains extra confidence he needs to achieve his goal. As he stated a couple of days ago, he is set to unleash his quest for the top spot, as well as for the other big prizes of the season.

Milos Raonic looked set to record the biggest win of his short career leading 6-4,5-5 30/40 on Federer's serve, but he eventually lost the nail-biter 6-4,5-7,6-7.

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