The sixth-ranked Raonic will be returning from his good run at Istanbul Open (held on clay), where he racked up four easy victories before bowing to Marin Cilic in the championship, 7-6 (3), 6-3. In five tournament appearances this year, he has reached the semifinals thrice (made the finals in two of those matches). The other two events, meanwhile, saw him advance to at least the third round.
Though not known for his mastery in the clay (52-31, 62.7 winning percentage), do remember that Raonic is still touted as one of the sport’s best and most dangerous opponents, regardless of the court.
The Canadian dropped his first two meetings with Muller, although it should be noted that at that time (2011 and 2012), Raonic was nowhere near the player he is today. Also, he has made his revenge in their meeting last January at the Australian Open, where he came out with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory.
No.26 Muller, who was recently bumped up by two spots in the rankings, moved on after his hard-fought, 6-4, 7-6 (7) win over Tommy Haas in the Round of 64. Like his next opponent, he’s also fresh off a nice run, as he had a good showing at the Estoril Open (held on clay) and finished as the runner-up to champion Pablo Carreno Busta.
It’s nice and all, but Muller battling an elite-ranked player that’s still red hot in his prime just doesn’t look good. Along with the aforementioned loss just months ago, his stats simply won’t appeal to any bettor. The 34-year-old has a career record of 26-26 on the clay and 9-39 against top 10 players.
Writer’s Prediction
Raonic should be able to ease past this round. He’ll win in straight sets.
