WHAT HAPPENED: No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas wasted no time getting down to business on Monday night in Louis Armstrong Stadium, breezing past a potential banana peel in former World No. 3 Milos Raonic to advance 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening-round test. He picked up his first win over the Canadian after falling in their two previous encounters in 2020.
“I played great. It was fun out here, getting to play such high-quality tennis against a champion like Milos,” said Tsitsipas in his on-court interview after the match. “I knew it was going to be tough He’s just starting a comeback and had nothing to lose. I tried to make it physical and it worked.”
Raonic is in the beginning stages of a comeback after being sidelined for two years due to an assortment of injuries ranging from an achilles issue to a broken toe. His US Open status this year was even in question after pulling out of Cincinnati two weeks ago with a shoulder injury. But even in the infancy stages of his return, Raonic proved he can still produce world-class tennis by scoring a Top 10 win this month in his home event of Toronto against Frances Tiafoe.
However, those moments were too few and far between on Monday for the 32-year-old Canadian. He committed 48 unforced errors against the Greek and only landed 46% percent of his first serves, giving Tsitsipas ample opportunities to get returns back in play and take Raonic out of his game by mixing up the pace on his shots.
Tsitsipas broke Raonic twice in the opening set and stepped up when it mattered most in the second set, scoring the lone break of the set at 4-3 after a forehand error from Raonic. It appeared that Raonic might extend the match after breaking Tsitsipas for a 4-2 lead in the third set, but the Greek quickly raised his level and swept through the last four games of the match.
The Greek comfortably served out the match on his first attempt, firing an ace to advance after one hour and 56 minutes. He finished the night with 24 winners to just 20 unforced errors.
WHAT IT MEANS: The draw gods have never been kind to Tsitsipas at the US Open. He’s failed to reach the second week in five previous visits to New York, including an opening-round exit last year to Daniel Elahi Galan. It remains the only Grand Slam he has yet to achieve this feat in. However, this can also be chalked up to unfavorable early matches against unseeded players who are now among the elite in men’s tennis: Alcaraz, Medvedev and Rublev, to name a few.
Although Tsitsipas suffered early-round exits in Toronto and Cincinnati, he also picked up a title this month in Los Cabos. A runner-up showing this year at the Australian Open also confirmed that he knows how to make deep runs at hard-court Grand Slams. Consistency has not been the Greek’s strength in 2023, with showings alternating between business-end performances and head-scratching early losses. But when he’s on, the World No. 7 is a player that nobody will want to face this fortnight.
Awaiting him in the next round is Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker or Aussie Alexei Popyrin.
MATCH POINT: Tsitsipas had a familiar face in the stands against Raonic: His girlfriend, former World No. 2 Paula Badosa. The pair announced their relationship earlier this summer and share their travels together on Instagram under @tsitsidosa.
