French Open 2014: Djokovic staves off Raonic challenge; Gulbis too good for Berdych

Novak Djokovic was stretched by Milos Raonic, but only just

Milos Raonic harbours an intense desire to rein over men’s tennis in the not too distant future. The Canadian has worked consciously to strengthen his game and focus as he begins the arduous climb to the top. Only time can tell if he can scale the peak he so desires, but Novak Djokovic held up a mirror to offer him a reminder of the final mile that separates the men from the boys in a quarterfinal of two parts. Raonic was tough as nails as he contested the first two sets with Djokovic, before succumbing to the Serbian. The world No.2 won 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes to reach his sixth semifinal at the French Open.

Both Djokovic and Raonic appreciate the need for a good start in a match as significant as the one they were contesting. The two men knew the margins would be small and the intensity with which they began underlined their preparation as they battled for a place in the last four.

The rallies were intense but there weren’t to be any openings to either player as they remained evenly matched through much of the first set. Only two weeks ago, Djokovic (6-7, 7-6, 6-3) and Raonic were engaged in three hour battle of attrition just to settle a three set match in the Rome semifinals.

At the rate at which this was going, there was a sense this might again turn out into a similarly bruising battle. With breaks not coming by, it was apparent that the set might meander into a breaker.

But Djokovic stepped it up in the twelfth game and Raonic could not respond adequately. A wonderfully crafted backhand down the line winner off a full bodied forehand stroke from the Canadian set the tone with a break point. Under pressure, Raonic sank a volley into the net concede the first set to Djokovic.

The second set was very similar to the first – Djokovic keeping one end steady with his solid service games and Raonic producing the big serves he needed to keep the Serbian at bay whenever he had a sniff of an opportunity.

Once again, Raonic found himself serving to keep the set alive at 5-6. This time though he avoided immediate pain by serving out the game to push the set into a tie-breaker. Djokovic was solid with his serve too and the players changed ends at 3-3.

Eventually though it was Djokovic who pinched a mini-break to gain two set points at 6-4. The first went away quickly when he found the net in the way of his sliced backhand, but Djokovic took his second chance to seal a two set lead.

It was cruel, the score sheet. In all fairness Raonic did work well for the most part, but then he blinked in the really crucial moments and was down two sets. Perhaps he looked at the score, and that might have hurt his spirits.

He came out serving in the third set and found out that he was walking cold. Djokovic wasted no time though, a stinging backhand set up three break points for the Serbian. Raonic moves rather well for his girth and height, more importantly he has discovered a resolve within himself to compete against the best in the business.

Even though he clawed back to deuce and gained a couple of game points, Djokovic stayed with him and a forehand winner helped to return the game to deuce. Raonic then missed a couple of forehand shots to offer a break and some relief to Djokovic.

And the match started to slip away when Raonic was broken again in the third game. Strangely, Djokovic serving for the match at 5-2, double faulted at 30-30 in the eighth game and then hit the net to offer a ray of hope for Raonic.

But the Serbian ensured there was no late evening drama when he finally held his own in the tenth game, completing victory when a Raonic backhand sailed too wide. As close as the match was, Djokovic had just 17 errors compared to 38 from Raonic, a factor that was not lost on the outcome of the match.

Ernests Gulbis – newfound resolve and focus

Djokovic will now play the man who conquered Roger Federer in the fourth round. Ernests Gulbis packed too much punch for an off colour Tomas Berdych, who found himself all at sea against an opponent who has tightened his game and attitude in the past few months.

Gulbis ran away with the match, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 as he laid the Federer curse to rest. The last eight men who beat Federer at a grand slam lost their next match, but Gulbis showed no such signs as he raced to victory just inside two hours on Suzanne Lenglen.