VANCOUVER, B.C. – After two rubbers in Canada’s best-of-five Davis Cup quarter-final tie with Italy, things are all square 1-1 thanks to Milos Raonic.
Canada’s leading man dispatched world No. 31 Fabio Fognini 6-4, 7-6, 7-5 at the University of British Columbia’s Doug Mitchell Sports Centre on Friday evening in two hours and six minutes to level the tie.
The win, Raonic’s sixth consecutive singles victory, propels him to a Davis Cup singles record of 9-3.
“I kept within myself, I felt I was able to control most of the time, and I felt most of the time I was putting it in my terms,” Raonic said immediately after his straight-set victory Friday. “We were playing under, ‘Milos can decide which way this goes.’ I did slip up a little bit, but I turned that around and I’m proud with how I managed it.”
Roanic said he felt a bit ill after overcoming a bout of strep throat last week, and still had a “scratchy throat” on Thursday evening, but ultimately it didn’t seem to affect what was a dominant performance against Fognini.
“To tell you the truth I didn’t feel honestly the best today,” Raonic said. “I know how to play in these situations and I know what I have to do to bring out the best in myself.
“I’ve developed a routine. Some are superstitious parts of the routine, some is just a routine for what I got to do to be 100 per cent from point one to the last point.”
Raonic’s win over Fognini was vital given Vasek Pospisil’s loss to Andreas Seppi in Friday’s early match. Reporters asked the Thornhill, Ontario, native if he felt Canada has momentum going into Saturday’s doubles match but seemed nonplussed by the idea.
“I don’t think it matters,” Raonic said. “It’s another match tomorrow. You’ve just got to step up and win that match. Down 2-0, up 2-0, it doesn’t matter. It’s a match as if it’s a tournament — you gotta go out there and win.”
Fognini insisted that he played a good match, but was undone solely on Raonic’s serving game. The Italian hit just three aces to the Canadian’s 25.
“He’s one of the best on the tour if you check the statistics,” Fognini said of Raonic’s serve. “He is top three. I think this is just the difference.”
When Fognini’s assessment was presented to Raonic, the lanky Ontario native responded that he was happy for players to underestimate his overall game.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Raonic said. “My serve is something I’ve spent a lot of time on, and I’m proud of the respect it gets. I think I’m getting better in other aspects of the game. I think I stepped up and was able to break his serve at a critical moment.
“If my serve gets the attention it means I’m putting a lot of pressure not only with my service games but also on his service games, him knowing if I get ahead in the set I can close it out.”
The 22-year-old went on to express confidence in the pairing of Pospisil and Daniel Nestor, which is scheduled to play Paulo Lorenzi and Daniele Bracciali, and insisted that Saturday’s result won’t impact his focus for Sunday’s reverse singles match against Seppi.
“I think they’re very capable,” Raonic said. “And in these situations, that team, of Danny and Vasek is very, very capable. Whatever happens tomorrow, win or lose, it’s no effect on me. I know what I got to do to bring out the best level for myself.
“I know I can play better than I did today, and that’s a good sign to me.”
Doubles swap?
The Italian team wasn’t giving any information away after Friday’s press conference, but captain Corrado Barazzutti acknowledged that he would speak with Fognini to see if he would like to play doubles in place of one of Lorenzi or Bracciali on Saturday.
Fognini is ranked 37 in the world in doubles in comparison to Lorenzi’s rank of 126, so that would be the most likely switch if Barazzutti deems it the right move.
“We’re going to talk,” Barazzutti said. “We make a discussion and we’re going to see what happens. Maybe it’s better to change something, or not – I can’t tell you. It’s not top secret but I don’t want to tell you now.”