FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – Last year 15th seed Milos Raonic missed the US Open due to a hip injury, on Tuesday the Canadian had to battle to survive his first round match against Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Raonic, known for his serve, had 15 double-faults in the 3-hour and 25 minute match.
“I just felt like a lot of basic stuff I wasn’t doing,†Raonic said. “I don’t think I struggled with my serve that much a long, long time. A lot of double faults, and it wasn’t just one double fault per game.
“It was when I double‑faulted I double‑faulted consistently a couple times in a row, so that made my job a lot more difficult and it gave him a little bit more freedom at the same time.â€
Raonic was a few service games away from elimination when he was down a break in the fourth set.
“He was dictating, the Canadian†said of Giraldo. “I felt like he was going for quite a bit and was not missing.
“The thing is, most of the time my initial way of creating pressure on my opponents is with the serve, serving and holding quite comfortably, and then they hesitate a little more on their service games and that gives me a little bit more freedom.
“So he was holding easier than I was. He was having more freedom to swing on his serve games and my service game. So it’s sort of like a double‑edged sword. It was hurting me today that I wasn’t serving well.â€
“He was returning well, but I gave him the opportunity to return well. Last time I played him I served consistently well throughout the match, so I just instilled a little bit of fear and doubt on his return game.
“Whereas today I had way too many lapses, so after a while he sort of was seeing the light and saying, Okay, if I just stick with him I’ll sort of have a few cracks at his serve.
Raonic will next face Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu for a spot in the third round. It will be the first meeting between the two players.