Music: {allcanada} Raonic rallies to advance at U.S. Open

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

{allcanada} Raonic rallies to advance at U.S. Open

NEW YORK -- Milos Raonic had trouble at the baseline, but still earned his first U.S. Open victory.

The Thornhill, Ont., native overcame 55 unforced errors including 15 double faults on Tuesday to defeat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Raonic, the No. 15 seed, earned his 34th victory of the season in a match that lasted well over three hours.

"I'm just happy with the outcome and that I managed to make the most of that moment and just find a way to win," said Raonic. "Everything else I've got to hope gets better in the next round."

Raonic had 30 aces, but struggled with unforced errors and converted on only a third of his dozen break points.

"I don't think I struggled with my serve that much in a long, long time. A lot of double faults, and it wasn't just one double fault per game," said Raonic. "I double-faulted consistently a couple times in a row, and that made my job a lot more difficult and it gave him a little bit more freedom at the same time."

Raonic did not play at the U.S. Open in 2011 as he recovered from hip surgery. In 2010 as a qualifier, he was beaten by Australian Carsten Ball in his debut at a major.

On Tuesday, Raonic found himself down 2-1, but tied the match with a break in the final game of the fourth set as Giraldo fired wide.

The match finished with a Raonic break of Giraldo on a forehand error from the Colombian.

He will play Paul-Henri Mathieu of France for the first time in the second round of the tournament.

Toronto's Daniel Nestor and partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus are scheduled to play Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock later Tuesday in the first round of the men's double's tournament.

Berdych beat 56th-ranked David Goffin of Belgium 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Goffin had reached a career-high ranking after making the round of 16 at the French Open and the third round at Wimbledon. He was making his U.S. Open debut.

Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up from the Czech Republic, has never been past the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows.

Goffin converted just 2 of 18 break points. Berdych had 17 aces and 40 winners.

Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Slovak qualifier Karol Beck in straight sets.

Tsonga won 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (2) on Tuesday, rallying from down a break in the third set. Both players had 36 unforced errors, but Tsonga had 41 winners to 25 for Beck.

The Frenchman made the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open last year, his best showing at Flushing Meadows.

The 143rd-ranked Beck reached the round of 16 at the 2004 Open, but the 30-year-old has lost in the first round in 16 of his 24 Grand Slam appearances.

Andy Roddick served 20 aces Tuesday to defeat 21-year-old American qualifier Rhyne Williams 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.

Roddick, seeded 20th, won the last 16 points on his serve and finished the match with a 127-mph ace.

It was a tough way to make a Grand Slam debut for Williams, who won three matches in qualifying, then learned he had a first-round matchup with the 2003 champion in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Williams, ranked 289th coming into the week, put in a respectable performance, but dropped a break in each set. He'll still earn $23,000 as a first-round loser in the year's final Grand Slam.