Delray Beach Open 2018: Raonic falls in straight sets to Steve Johnson

Rudi Schuller

Delray Beach Open 2018: Raonic falls in straight sets to Steve Johnson image

Sometimes a perfect start can be deceiving.

Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic found out the hard way on Wednesday in a 6-2, 6-4 round of 16 loss to American Steve Johnson at the Delray Beach Open in Florida.

Raonic, known for his powerful serve, opened the match with a booming ace that appeared to set the stage for the rest of the contest.

Instead, the shot was a false dawn as Raonic ultimately fell to Johnson for the first time.

The opening set couldn't have gone worse for Raonic, with the Canadian struggling to find his shot as Johnson appeared comfortable with whatever was thrown at him. Raonic's power was his only advantage in the first set, but it was not nearly enough as Johnson put up superior statistics in both service and return.

It led to a quick and easy first-set victory for Johnson, as Raonic showed visible signs of frustration with each passing game. 

The second set started off just as poorly for the 27-year-old Canadian, as Johnson broke to grab the first game and then went up 2-0. There were signs of life in Raonic, though, and he fought back to grab the next game.

Johnson, growing in confidence, continued to thwart his opponent, making a number of sublime shots that would demoralize a less experienced player.

However, Raonic began to find his feet and pulled back to within one game. With the set at 4-3, Johnson regained control of the match and won the next game, setting up his victory against the error-prone Canadian. 

Raonic missed a large portion of 2017 with a variety of injuries. His victory over Taro Daniel in the round of 32 was his first since Oct. 2017.

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Despite Raonic's loss, Canadians still have a rooting interest at the Delray Beach Open as teen sensation Denis Shapovalov faces Jared Donaldson in a round of 16 match on Thursday afternoon.

Rudi Schuller