Top Left Header
Header
Sports
Arrow
NHL Columnists
Arrow
Follow OurHometown.ca on... Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Follow us on RSS Follow Us with E-Mail Updates!
Follow Me on TwitterRob Soria is the Edmonton Oilers' correspondent for OurHometown.ca. Rob was born and raised in Edmonton and is the author of the Edmonton Oilers blog - OilDrop.ca. He has been a dedicated follower of the game and its history for years but his focus remains on his hometown Edmonton Oilers. If you have questions or wish to contact Rob, you can email him at rsoria@ourhometown.ca
Australian Open: Day Two - Djokovic nearly flawless and Raonic solid in opener
Rob Soria
OurHometown.ca

Australian Open: Day Two - Djokovic nearly flawless and Raonic solid in opener
The second day of competition at the 2012 Australian Open saw Andy Murray given a bit of a push and Novak Djokovic demonstrating that he is still, without question, the man to beat at this year's event. Canadian Milos Raonic also took the court on Day Two and had little trouble moving on to the second round.
PHOTO CREDIT - Zimbio.com

Edmonton - January 17, 2012 - The second day of competition at the 2012 Australian Open saw Andy Murray given a bit of a push and Novak Djokovic demonstrating that he is still, without question, the man to beat at this year's event. Canadian Milos Raonic also took the court on Day Two and had little trouble moving on to the second round.

The world's top ranked player took on 109th ranked Paolo Lorenzi in his opening match and the veteran managed to break Djokovic early on in the first set and hold a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately, Lorenzi would not win another game the entire afternoon. Novak would take the next seventeen straight games in cruising to a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of the helpless Italian. The Serb looked to be in top form and was moving effortlessly around the court while simply toying with his opponent.

Andy Murray did not have as easy of a time with 77th ranked Ryan Harrison. The American actually took the first set off Murray and made the number four player in world work to earn his spot in the second round with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory. To Murray's credit, he made slight adjustments to his return of serve early in the second set and took control of the match from that point on but the American would not go down without a fight.The Scottish-man struggled with his serve for much of the match and if his plans are to go deep into this tournament, a 54% first serve won't cut it.

Raonic who is ranked twenty-third for the event, took on Italian Filippo Volandri, who managed to stay with the young Canadian in the opening set but could muster up little else. As usual, Raonic rode the strength of his service game to a rather convincing 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 victory. The twenty-one year old served up thirteen aces on the afternoon while committing only four unforced errors. With American Andy Roddick also winning his opening round match, the youngster seems to be headed towards a third round collision with the former US Open champion, in what could be a very entertaining and fun match to watch.

Other men advancing to the second round included: the trio of Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon as well as Spaniard David Ferrer and Aussie Lleyton Hewitt. The third day of competition will see the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin Del Potro, Mardy Fish and Australian teenager Bernard Tomic all in second round matches.


Follow OurHometown.ca on... Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Follow us on RSS Follow Us with E-Mail Updates!
Send Us Your Thoughts


Title - Story Count
8,402 Stories & Growing Daily...

To date OurHometown.ca has posted a total of 8,402 stories! News, sports, hockey, lifestyle, opinion and more!

Be sure to check out our Contributors and Columnists archives!


Title - More OH Headlines
Click on Photo or Story Title for more info
Detroit Grand Prix Canceled for 2020
Team Canada will not send athletes to Games in summer 2020 due to COVID-19 risks
NBA to suspend season following Wednesday
Lyn St. James to Race in Historic Trans-Am Series at the 2020 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix
2019 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear Fast Facts
OurHometown.ca News Database Last Updated:
Jan. 28, 2024 @ 1:06 PM EST





Footer
Free Sitemap Generator