WHAT HAPPENED: He comes from the land of the ice and snow. So for top Canadian ace Milos Raonic, the cooler conditions under the open roof and night lights of Louis Armstrong Stadium made for the perfect concoction to chill Stan Wawrinka’s nine match US Open win streak dating back to 2016 on Friday night. The man from north of the border imposed his will on the former World No. 3, picking up a hard fought 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to reach the Round of 16 for the first time since 2014.
If history was to be an indicator, their only previous Slam meeting resulted in a five-set affair in the Round of 16 at the 2017 Australian Open, with Raonic recording the win. The early going on Friday showed that a similar tug-of-war was in store as the chess match raged to a 5-5 deadlock in the first set. The pair had nearly identical stats in first-serve wins -- 86 percent for Raonic and 87 percent for Wawrinka -- and with the Canadian blasting 17 winners to the 2016 champion’s 16, neither showed signs of blinking.
All seemed to be on pace for Raonic to clinch the first set as he sped to another 40-0 service lead. Yet a couple of unforced errors by the 27-year-old and a stunning Wawrinka backhand winner earned the only break opportunity of the match. The No. 25 seed returned to his bread and butter -- combining serve and volley with a 143 mph ace to dig his way out of trouble.
"I thought I was able to sort of dictate more, get in more service games of his, take control of the match... I felt like he was struggling to hit a bit through the court consistently with his backhand. Sometimes he was just trying to push me back." Raonic said.
The tiebreak began with a bang as Wawrinka flashed the wheels to pick up and finish off a drop shot, bringing the Louis Armstrong crowd to their feet. The back-and-forth was in full effect as the Swiss saw a 3-0 lead evaporate to 3-3. Wawrinka again earned the mini-break with a too-hot-to-handle backhand for 5-4, egging the crowd to applaud his efforts. But the former World No. 3’s fortunes would not last as an errant forehand ultimately sealed the set for Raonic despite earning 37 to Wawrinka's 39 points.
"It's also about the mental, to know exactly those little moment that everything is clear, you go for it, you do it, you don't get soft," Wawrinka said. "That's what happened tonight. I got a little bit tight, I got a little bit of hesitation on a few points. I know exactly a match like that, it's not going to be 20 points, it's going to be maybe four, three points, but those points can completely change a match. Tonight he was stronger than me."
The second set followed an almost identical script to 4-4 until Wawrinka launched an errant forehand wide at 30-30. Raonic capitalized on his only break point of the match and emotions boiled over for Wawrinka. The 33-year-old sent his racquet hurling into the net in disgust and launched an extended barking session at his box. Quickly after, Raonic served out for 6-4.
Ultimately, Wawrinka could not overcome the 2016 Wimbledon finalist launching 43 winners. An early break in the third set signaled the end of the line for the Olympic gold medalist who hit 29 winners to 28 unforced errors. Raonic broke again to finish off the match at 6-3.
WHAT IT MEANS: Raonic is the lone Canadian remaining in the men’s singles draw and next faces top American John Isner. In the battle of the big serves, the 6’10” American holds the 4-1 edge. Raonic's lone victory came two years ago in Cincinnati. Strap in for a few tiebreaks folks.
"We're both quite aware of what the other guy wants to do," Raonic said. "We're both aware that opportunities are not going to be that often arising. It's going to be important to be disciplined and to make sure you sort of are always getting there, giving yourself some kind of situations, that you're disciplined and sharp with yourself when those situations arise."
MATCH POINT: Raonic racked up 43 winners with only 14 coming in as aces. The Canadian impressed in rallies, covering 6989.7 feet in the match compared to Wawrinka’s 6808.6 feet.
