Canada’s number one player Milos Raonic of Canada improved his chances of qualifying for the year-end ATP World Tour Finals by winning the Thailand Open 2013 title. The third-seed defeated top-seed Tomas Berdych 7-6, 6-3 in a match that lasted an hour and 17 minutes.
“I think I struggled a lot more than him at the beginning, he was finding his rhythm better,” the 11th-ranked Canadian said. “In the tie-break, it just came down to one return and playing pretty sold after that… I started being more aggressive.”
The title victory means that Raonic is now just 180 points behind Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the ATP Race to London standings. Tsonga is ranked 10th in the standings while Raonic is 11th. Both players will be competing at the Japan Open Tennis Championships, an ATP 500 hardcourt event, which begins on Monday, September 30.
“It would mean a lot, it was a goal,” Raonic said about the possibility of qualifying. “After [the] clay and grass [seasons], it seemed very distant… I’ve put a lot of good results together.”
This is Raonic’s second title of the year after his third consecutive title win in San Jose. He now has a total of five ATP World Tour titles.
“I think I’m playing great tennis, I’m serving really well, I’m doing a lot of good things. If I keep that up I think I’ll have opportunities and will put myself in a good position, no matter who [I play],” Raonic said.
The loss means that Berdych remains without a title this season, the only one within the world’s top ten to do so.
“He was exceptional. He was serving really well and didn’t give me many chances,” said Berdych. “Basically, the match was about two points. Both of them Milos handled better and so he deserved to win.”
