As the saying goes - go big, or go home.
Milos Raonic definitely went for it with his big serve on Friday, but now he's going home.
The 29th-ranked Canadian lost to Novak Djokovic 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinal at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio.
While his ability to fire off aces, including his high-velocity aces on his second serve, put him in position to win the match, Raonic's biggest weapon also let him down.
In the second game of the match - a 14:30 affair - Raonic battled not only Djokovic, but also himself. He hit four aces and fought off five break points, but also had four double faults that almost cost him the game. While it was early in the match it was a key game for Raonic, mentally, and he was finally able to hold off the 10th-ranked Serbian to pull even with the Canadian at one game apiece.
Raonic utilized his serve and fired off an ace to even the match at three. Then, despite wasting three chances to break, he eventually broke Djokovic to take a 4-3 lead in the opening set- and he was pumped up. Djokovic on the other hand took his frustrations out on a racquet that is now, unusable.
NOVAK SMASH #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/xIHHWrSxTu
— Sporting News Canada (@sportingnewsca) August 17, 2018
Entering Friday, Raonic had lost 16 consecutive sets to Djokovic and the first set of this match was the same result. The booming serve failed the Thornhill, Ont. native as he double faulted the first and last points of the 10th game to tie the set at five. Raonic was up in the set 5-3, but Djokovic would win, 7-5.
The memories of losing eight straight matches to Djokovic surely were on the mind of the 27-year-old as he trailed a set. But in second, Raonic was able to mentally stay in the match and win 6-4. It didn't hurt that he was able to control his serve and win nine out of 11 points off his second serve. He rattled off 10 aces, including three in the critical sixth game, which put him up 4-2 and helped him pull away.
He shoots, he scores! 😳🙉#CincyTennis @milosraonic pic.twitter.com/rTj3HSYD3V
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 17, 2018
Despite facing an opponent who had to finish, and win, his third-round matchup earlier in the day, the Canadian couldn't fight off a pumped-up Djokovic in the deciding set. While he hung with him for most of it, Djokovic pulled away by breaking Raonic to go up 5-3.
Even though he wasn't able to pull off the upset, Raonic proved he was still able to hang with one of the top ranked players in the world, who is coming off a Grand Slam win at Wimbledon. He also secured his spot as one of the biggest servers on tour with 21 aces - averaging 136 mph.
The ninth match between the two was set after Raonic defeated fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov in straight sets on Thursday. Raonic will now prepare for the US Open, which is set to begin on Monday, Aug. 27 in New York.