Raonic rise continues

Canadian Milos Raonic continued where he left off in 2011 by winning the ATP Chennai Open on Sunday.

Canadian youngster defeats top seed to win Chennai title

Canadian Milos Raonic continued where he left off in 2011 by winning the ATP Chennai Open on Sunday. The 21-year-old, named the best newcomer last year after rising from 156 to 31 in the rankings, overcame world number nine Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 7-6 7-6 in the final. Raonic slammed 35 aces on the way to his second career title in a rousing clash that lasted three hours and 13 minutes. Remarkably, neither player was able to gain a service break in the entire match, with all three tie-breaks ending 7-4. When top seed Tipsarevic won the opening set it was the first time in the tournament Raonic had lost one. The Serbian saved two break points in the seventh game of the second set, but it was Raonic's turn to dominate the tie-breaker and level the match. Raonic wasted two of the four match points he earned in the tie-breaker of the final set before converting the third when Tipsarevic netted a forehand return. "It's just an awesome feeling to win another title," Raonic said. "I've just been on the tour for a year and am learning all the time. Here I realised that it is good to have the security of a sound serve and wait for the opportunities to come your way. "In my three finals so far I have played in seven tie-breakers in eight sets. So I could not have asked for more when the match went my way. "I am happy with the way I played this week on hard court. I was able to return better and served quite well. All this gives me a lot of confidence going into the Australian Open."