Milos Raonic too strong for Canadian compatriot Vasek Pospisil in Citi Open final
Milos Raonic won the first all-Canadian final of the professional era when he beat Vasek Pospisil 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Citi Open in Washington on Sunday.
Second seed Raonic took barely an hour to dispose of Pospisil on the hard court at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Centre, breaking serve three times in the first set.
The second set was a tighter battle as Pospisil raised his game before Raonic delivered the knockout blow in the 10th game for his sixth ATP title, his first of the year.
Raonic, 23, playing his first event since making the Wimbledon semi-finals, is projected to rise from seventh to sixth in the ATP rankings.
I couldn’t have asked for a better way to lead into probably my most enjoyable part of the year
“I couldn’t have imagined starting that well,” Raonic said.
“It’s tough after a few weeks away. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to lead into probably my most enjoyable part of the year.”
Pospisil, who won a tough three-set semi-final against Frenchman Richard Gasquet late on Saturday, was flat at the start of the final.
“I wasn’t 100 per cent but nobody’s 100 per cent at this stage. Everybody’s dealing with something. I didn’t sleep much last night.
“I don’t think it would have made much difference to be honest, especially that first set.”
Raonic’s lethal weapon was his dominating serve. He dropped only two points on first serve, one in each set.
The second set was closer as Pospisil’s serve improved.
Raonic finally broke serve on match point, firing a backhand cross-court passing shot for the winner.
In the women’s final, sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia beat Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in a match that stretched over two hours.
Kuznetsova broke Nara’s serve five times but was broken herself on three occasions.
