Wimbledon 2018: Raonic holds on against McDonald, into quarterfinal

Evan Sporer

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Wimbledon 2018: Raonic holds on against McDonald, into quarterfinal image

The 2016 Wimbledon runner-up looks poised to push back into the less two competitors standing at the All England Club in 2018.

Milos Raonic was dominant at times in his Round of 16 match against American Mackenzie McDonald, taking down the unseeded challenger in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.

"The surface definitely helps," Raonic told reporters following the victory. "It's a surface that's going to allow me to come forward more, it's going to help my volleys when I'm at the net stay a little bit lower, these kind of things."

In each of the first two sets, Raonic jumped out to quick, early advantages. In the first, he broke McDonald en route to a 3-0 lead and, in the second, got an early break on the back of a McDonald unforced error to lead 2-0.

From there, Raonic continued to settle in and heat up on Court 12. While he amassed four aces in the first set, Raonic struck five in his two service games of the second, peppering McDonald with a ball that touched 141 miles per-hour. 

When it looked like McDonald might have a chance at a crucial break, up 0-30 with an opportunity to even the set score at 3-3, Raonic came storming back, winning four straight points with an ace mixed in on a serve struck at 139 miles per-hour.

Raonic continued to get routine holds from there, producing 12 aces in all from the service line in the second set, and in other moments not giving McDonald much of any chance to play out a point. In one sequence in the second set, Raonic bombed a 141 mile per-hour serve down the middle that McDonald parried away in a defensive-like stroke. On his next serve, Raonic grooved a ball 125 miles-per hour right down the middle, taking command of the second set, 5-3.

McDonald made life more difficult for Raonic in the third, and both players held respectively on their serves leading into a tiebreak. After losing the first point, Raonic won each of his next two on serve, hitting his 28th ace of the match before coming back with another strong serve that McDonald played long on the return.

But McDonald went up a mini break in that tie break, taking advantage of a Raonic unforced error at the net, and ended up taking it (7-5) to force a fourth set.

"I missed a few opportunities in the third set, so then I sort of just let up a bit, and he played well," Raonic said.

Facing his first true adversity of the day, Raonic looked much more vulnerable with McDonald, ranked outside the top 100 in the ATP entering Wimbledon and playing in his first main draw of a grand slam tournament, with nothing to lose. McDonald nearly produced an early break in the first set, leading 0-30 in the third game, but Raonic powered back with three consecutive aces before hitting a backhand winner to grab a 2-1 lead.

It wasn't until the sixth game in that set that Raonic finally found some breathing room. After playing his way into another double break-point, Raonic lost out on his first opportunity, but got the big break on an unforced forehand error by McDonald to grab a 4-2 lead.

With another shot at taking command of the match, Raonic consolidated on his serve, another pair of aces anchoring his service turn, running his total up to seven in the fourth set and 37 for the match.

Raonic finished out his day with another break, a forehand smash closing the book on his victory.

It's been a dominant tournament on serve for Raonic, and the 37 aces he hit on Monday marked a personal best during this run at Wimbledon, surpassing the 34 he hit in a three-set victory in the Round of 64 against John Millman. Raonic has totaled 117 aces across his four matches, averaging a little over eight aces per set.

He advances and will take on John Isner (9), who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets on Monday. Isner has won three out of the four all-time meetings between him and Raonic.

"It's going to come down to one, two, three, points here and there; that's pretty much it," Raonic said. "I don't think we're going to have many consecutive opportunities on each other's serves, so it's going to come down to those moments of being sharp in the right moments, and who is going to be able to step up and dictate in putting pressure on the other guy. But it's going to be decided by small margins."

In Isner, Raonic could be on an even keel when it comes to service game for the first time at Wimbledon. Isner hit 22 aces in his Round of 16 victory against Tsistipas, and 64 aces in a five-set victory against Ruben Bemelmans in the second round of the tournament.

"It's definitely not pleasant; it's not enjoyable (to play against)," Raonic said. "You can not gain any kind of rhythm. I'm aware he feels the same way. We're sort of playing with the same kind of fire, and it's about who can temper the other guy's better."

Raonic said one of the keys to the match, which will be played on Wednesday, will be when points are neutralized, which of the two players can be the aggressor in a rally.

"I can move a little bit better than he can," Raonic said. "He has a bigger wingspan than I do. The thing is, neither of us behind our serves is hitting extremely difficult volleys, but I think I feel more comfortable than he does out there."

The draw for Raonic very much opened up after No. 3 seeded Marin Cilic lost in the second round to Guido Pella, giving Raonic a clear path into the quarterfinal (Isner would be the highest ranked player Raonic would have faced in this run at the All England Club). Pella subsequently lost to McDonald, setting up the head-to-head in the Round of 16 against Raonic.

Should the Toronto native win that meeting, and it's likely a date with Roger Federer would await. Raonic recently lost to Federer in straight sets in the Stuttgart Open final, 4-6, 6-7 (3).

Evan Sporer