Milos Raonic sweeps aside Gael Monfils at ATP World Tour Finals
Monday 14 November 2016 11:30, UK
Milos Raonic showed no after-effects of a recent injury as he beat Gael Monfils in straight sets at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Raonic withdrew from his Paris Masters semi-final against Andy Murray just over a week ago due to a torn quadricep and there had been fears he would not be able to complete his first match at The O2.
However, the world No 4 dominated Monfils with his powerful serving and claimed a 6-3 6-4 victory in one hour, 24 minutes.
Shot of the match
It may not have prevented him losing the opening set - or the match - but Monfils' no-look drop shot was pure theatre.
Expert analysis
Peter Fleming: "Two questions succinctly answered by Milos Raonic: One, he's fit after his recent injury problems, and two, he's retained the form that took him to the semi-finals in Paris. He is a real threat. For Gael Monfils, it just didn't happen for him. He just needs to bring a little more artillery to the court."
Greg Rusedski: "The mix of serving, the aggression coming forward - the court suits him [Raonic]. People have asked me, 'Who can win this other than Andy and Novak?' People have said Stan, but I now think Milos."
The match
Fears over Raonic's fitness were swiftly allayed when he raced into a one-set lead thanks largely to wildly contrasting serving from the two players.
While Raonic won 85 per cent of points on his first serve and 75 per cent on his second, Monfils won just 59 per cent on his first and dug an even deeper hole for himself by sending down two ill-timed double-faults.
He finally kicked himself into life with a no-look drop shot and a jumping smash in the sixth game, but by then he was 4-1 down and the set was already all but lost.
Monfils managed to get to 3-3 in the second set, but his serving continued to deteriorate - now down at just a 45 per cent success rate on his first serve - and Raonic decisively punished him by breaking in the seventh game.
Watch every day of the ATP World Tour Finals, from November 13-20, live on Sky Sports. Full schedule here.
