Milos Raonic’s quest for a first Grand Slam title is off to a rousing start after brushing aside Pablo Carreño Busta in the opening round of Wimbledon on Monday. Raonic will look to continue his excellent form on grass when he takes on the ever-dangerous Andreas Seppi in a mouth-watering round of 64 clash this coming Wednesday.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this second-round matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Djokovic vs. Mannarino and Federer vs. Willis.
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Milos Raonic barged into the second round of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships with an emphatic 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 win over Pablo Carreño Busta on Monday. It was an excellent performance by the former Wimbledon semifinalist who needed just one hour and 53 minutes to record the straight-sets victory.
Raonic was simply exceptional in the win against Carreño Busta, blasting a whopping 58 winners. The Canadian also won 53 of his 67 first-serve points for a remarkable 79 percent success rate. What proved to be the difference in the match, however, was Raonic’s terrific net play. He won 24 of his 42 net points against Carreño Busta in the opening round.
Next up for Raonic is a second-round showdown with unseeded Andreas Seppi. The 25-year-old will fancy his chances against the Italian as he is 1-0 against Seppi in their head-to-head matchup. The world no. 7 defeated Seppi in the Davis Cup back in 2013, winning in four sets, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. For Raonic to defeat Seppi once again, he needs to improve on his play on the receiving end. He converted just three of his 11 break opportunities in the win against Carreño Busta.
Andreas Seppi booked a spot in the second round of Wimbledon with a convincing 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Monday. It was a superb showing from Seppi who needed just one hour and 34 minutes to outlast the Spaniard. With the victory, Seppi is through to the round of 64 at Wimbledon for the ninth time in his career.
He will look to sustain the momentum of that huge victory when he takes on the hard-hitting Milos Raonic in the next round. For Seppi to record a major upset in the round of 64, the Italian needs to continue his excellent return play. Seppi won 54 percent of his receiving points against Garcia-Lopez with the World No. 45 converting seven of his nine break point chances. Another key weapon for Seppi this coming Wednesday is his net attack. He won 19 of his 23 net points against Garcia-Lopez in the opening round.
Seppi is 6-4 in his last 10 matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Raonic (-700) edges past Seppi in four tough sets.
