Raonic Ends U.S. Open Run by Estrella Burgos
In a way, ahead of their third round encounter at the U.S. Open on Saturday, Milos Raonic and Victor Estrella Burgos, both were at the same point in their careers. The Canadian power server and Dominican baseliner are in the midst of breaking through onto the tour, starting their rise to prominence. The only thing is, Raonic is a budding superstar at the young age of 23, while Estrella Burgos is 34- years old, first making a name for himself in the tennis world.
On a packed Grandstand Court, while the elder of the newcomers made a name for himself with flashy shot-making and impressive reflexes, getting the crowd on his side, it was the younger, more experienced Raonic who crawled his way across the distant finish line in a 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 victory.
With the win, the fifth-seeded Raonic earned a Round of 16 matchup with Kei Nishikori, a classic matchup of a power player in the Canadian, Raonic, against a baseliner in Nishikori.
After a match of frustration, as shown on Raonic's face throughout, the Canadian held his nerve when it mattered most, in the tie-breakers. Each time, he gained an early advantage, holding on with his monster of a serve.
Credit is due to Burgos, though, making the match more interesting than the analysts and the fans figured it would be. Constantly running around his one-handed backhand to lash out on a forehand, the native of the Dominican Republic attempted to control the pace of play, rare against the powerful Raonic.
At the end of the day, although it was a tricky encounter, Raonic moves on in straight sets, when it easily could have been four or five. In the third set, it was Burgos who took his opportunity, breaking the big man and eventually serving to extend the match. After saving 0-40, Burgos double-faulted to give Raonic another crack at it, which he took to eventually close out the match in straights.
“It was difficult, as he's playing well with a lot of aspiration,” said Raonic of Burgos. “It was a lot of fun … the atmosphere out there. I'm glad that I was able to play well in the important moments.”
It will be important for the Canadian to be more aggressive in his match with Nishikori, as allowing a talented ball striker like Kei to dig himself into rallies will likely put Raonic in greater difficulty than he ended up being in than in this match.
One thing is for certain, although one player is first starting out, and another is breaking into the spotlight in the twilight of his career, both put on a show.
