Wimbledon 2019: Milos Raonic hits 32 aces, advances to third round to face American Reilly Opelka

Jackie Spiegel

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Wimbledon 2019: Milos Raonic hits 32 aces, advances to third round to face American Reilly Opelka image

Milos Raonic keeps rolling. The 15th-seeded Canadian is through to the third round at Wimbledon after defeating Robin Haase, 7-6(1), 7-5, 7-6(4). 

And of course, the Thornhill, Ont., native did it with some flair. While the score makes the match look competitive, Raonic had 64 winners and an eye-popping 32 aces. In comparison, his opponent from the Netherlands had only 27 winners and nine aces. Ranked 17th in the world, Raonic also continued to showcase his strong short game as he won 43 of 56 net points.

After being broken in the first set, thanks in part to one of his five double faults in the match, Raonic broke back before winning the set in a tiebreak. Trailing 5-4 in the second, he rattled off three aces to tie it up, broke Haase and had three more aces to win the set and go up 2-0. In the third, the two players — who last played each other in 2013, with Raonic winning on the hard courts in Paris — stayed on serve with the Canadian utilizing his big forehand and serve to seal the win.

Raonic did need medical attention in the last set for a leg injury, but will have some time to prepare for his third-round matchup against American Reilly Opelka. Opelka upset the 22nd-seeded Stan Wawrinka in five sets, setting up a faceoff against Raonic for the first time in their careers. The matchup will showcase the 6-11 Opelka, the 6-5 Raonic and their big, high-speed serves and forehands.

"There's no secrets with how he's going to be playing me and vice versa ... both of us are going to be looking to play aggressive and move forward," Opelka, who's in his first main draw at Wimbledon, told ESPN. "When you get those matchups it really comes down to who plays better on the big points."

Jackie Spiegel