In the first match of the day, Milos Raonic defeated Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3) at the ATP Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters to book his spot in the quarterfinal, where he will face Andy Murray who came through a tough test against Benoit Paire.
Milos Raonic and Andy Murray have met seven times, with Murray coming out on top four times. The first meeting between the pair was in 2012 at the Miami Open, which the Brit came away as a winner with a walkover. The first official meeting was at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Milos Raonic won 6-4, 7-6(3). Their last meeting was at the Australian Open in a five set thriller. The Scot won 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2.
One break enough for Raonic as he takes opening set
Both players started the match tight and tense with no breaks being offered until the sixth game of the set. Milos Raonic needed only one break to take control of the set and he led 4-2 over Dzumhur, who defeated Tomas Berdych in the previous round in three sets.
In the following game, the Bosnian pushed the Canadian to deuce on two occasions, but Raonic held and now led 5-2. Dzumhur held and gave the responsibility to Milos Raonic of serving it out. The 26-year old hit one of his big serves on set point and took a set lead
Dzumhur fights back, forces a third set
Both players started the second by holding their opening service games. In the sixth game of the set, Dzumhur raced away to a 40 love lead hitting a powerful forehand to which Raonic returned wide. However, in the following game, the Canadian had a break point of his own at 40-30, which was erased by the 23-year old.
Two points later, Raonic would get the chance to break back hitting a backhand to the feet of the Bosnian at the baseline, which caused the error. In the next point, Raonic put away a forehand at the net wrong footing Dzumhur and the set was now at 4-3. The 6 ft 5 inch serving at 4-5 was broken, when Dzumhur hit a backhand winner to level at one set apiece.
Third set sent to tiebreak, Raonic wins and books spot in quarterfinal
The opening game saw a break point in the favor of Raonic, but Dzumhur managed to save and held a lengthy game. Milos Raonic held his first service game to love. At 2-2, 15-40, Dzumhur had two chances to break Raonic and the Canadian won the next two points to hold and deny the Bosnian the breakthrough in the set. The set would continue to be tight and tense, with both holding their own and in the 11th game, Raonic had a break point opportunity coming from 30 love down.
Raonic hit a slice and raced towards the net, however, Dzumhur anticipated that move and hit the ball down the line to hold. The Canadian held and the set went to the tiebreak. Milos Raonic won the tiebreaker 7-5, with the crucial point coming on the Dzumhur serve at 5-6. The Canadian did have the mini break at 3-1 until the tenth game.
Match by the numbers
Milos Raonic served 12 aces and no double-faults, while Dzumhur hit five aces and no doubles. The 26-year old won 72 percent first serves and struggled on second winning only 49 percent, while Dzumhur won 64 percent on first serve and 59 percent on second. Raonic saved 71 percent breaks and converted only 40 percent with Dzumhur saving 60 percent and converting only 29 percent. Raonic won a total of 51 percent points with Dzumhur winning 49.