Milos Raonic, the tenth-seeded player at this year's US Open tournament, was pushed by Tim Smyczek in their first round match, but held it together for a straight set win. Smyczek played very well for the first two sets, which were very close, before letting his level drop somewhat in the final set. The final score was 6-4, 7-6 (8), 6-1 for the Canadian. 

Raonic fires his way to the first set

There was little between the two players in the first set of the match. Both players came out looking nervous, which is understandable in the first set of a Grand Slam. They both made several unforced errors early; Raonic finished the set with 12 of them, while his opponent had 6, albeit with fewer winners as well (four winners to Raonic's 13). The Canadian struggled to land his first serve, with only 48 percent ending up inside the service, though he was dominant when he did land one. He won 92 percent of first serve points, as well as 69 percent of second serves, a vital statistic considering they made up just over half of his total service points. 

Smyczek was more successful with landing his first serve and less successful with winning those points, with 75 percent of first serves in and only 60 percent of first serve points won. His second serve numbers were very respectable, with 75 percent of second serve points won. Raonic, who is so known for his serve that his right arm and serving arm compression sleeve have their own twitter accounts, produced all seven aces of the first set and hit one serve at 142 mph. It was pure luck that handed him the only break of the set, however. After holding from 0-30 down to stay even at four games all, a return shot of his bounced off the post at the edge of the net and down onto the American's side. He won the set with a service hold.

Raonic just broke Smyczek with a dead net cord winner that bounced off the post. #canadiannet pic.twitter.com/OZZNVAs51I

— Jeff Donaldson (@jddtennis) August 31, 2015

Raonic takes tight tiebreak

The second set brought a high level of tennis from the two North American players, who appeared to have shaken off the opening set jitters. The Thornhill, Ontario native continued to struggle with his first serve, landing only 46 % of attempts, while his opponent dropped down to 47 percent. Both players still had a number of errors, but overall the play was extremely competitive. This set featured eight aces, divided evenly between the two players, though Raonic through in three double faults to Smyczek's one. He also came to the net often during the 61 minutes set, 18 times to be specific, winning 13 of those points. That tripled the net points he played in the first set. He seemed be taking more chances as he shook off the rust of having played so few matches this summer.

As one would expect from such a close set, a tie break was needed. In fact, neither player had faced any break points up until Raonic won the set. He had to save a set point 5-6 in the tiebreaker, which he did with an impressive half volley, and then was unable to convert on two set points at 7-6 and 8-7. He finally took a two sets to love lead with a hard fought 10-8 tiebreak win.

Raonic takes out American in straights

The first game of the third set started off badly for the Canadian, as he found himself down 0-40 on serve, facing triple break point and his first break points against of the match. He managed to hold, in part because he won an important challenge at 15-40, on a point that would have given Smyczek the game. He set up a triple break point of his own in the next game and kept on rolling from there. he held at with with a beautiful serve and volley point for a three games to love lead, which he increased by breaking his unseeded opponent's serve once more. He had to save a couple of break points in the fifth game of the set and was visibly frustrated with having put himself in that position, showing more emotion than fans have become used to in recent years.

The world number 99 could not convert, but finally got on the board in the set with a service hold. Raonic then served for the set up 5-1, and oh boy did he serve for it. The man known as the "Maple Leaf Missile" served four straight first serves that were unreturnable, all at or over 140 mph. He saved his fastest of the match, which had at least six serves in the 140 mph category, for last, winning the match with a 147 mile an serve, the fastest of the tournament so far. The the fastest serve from any other player is 137 mph from Matthew Ebden. The game was believed to be the first time a player served four times in a row all above 140 mph. The fast serve had many talking and was a nice finish to his 200th tour win for a player so known for that weapon. 

Milos Raonic will blast an ace at 147 MPH. Genie Bouchard slides one in at...83 MPH... There are two types of Canadians.