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Raonic was in trouble for a set and a half

Gasquet sailed past Bolelli, just like he's been doing for years now. Raonic won only three points on return and broke Ward's resistance only late in the second set. It was mostly a mental breakdown. The Brit compared his serve to a rocket and Gasquet will struggle with that segment of Raonic's game for sure as well

Raonic's win might seem convincing now but he was in trouble for about a set and a half. We talked about his footwork, which seems okay at Wimbledon but the ball bounces much lower here and Ward took advantage of that in a great way. The Brit lacks power but had good technical skills and knows how to hit the ball in these kind of conditions. Raonic was in trouble from the very start. Luckily for him, the Brit would end up losing even matches he was better in, which happened once again here. He let go late in the second set and that was it. 

The Canadian won only three points on return in the first set. His serve was getting him through but he still lost two straight games late in the first set. Regardless of the problems, Raonic was doing what he does best. He served confidently and waited for his chance. His first break points resulted in a break after which he went on to win straight games, taking advantage of Ward's lack of confidence and momentum.

- I don't even have to say it, you saw that I had trouble with footwork. But that is what happens on grass. I am happy overall. It was my first match after the surgery and injury, the surface was tricky and lost the first set. I'm happy with my response - Roanic said while Ward drew comparison between him and Isner, whom he beat this season:

- Isner serves come from a bigger height which is why they land with an angle but Milos has an amazingly powerful serve. It's a rocket.

Gasquet also had high first serve percentage. He fired only three aces but won 85% of first serve points to confirm once again that he has what it takes to bring down Bolelli. Even though the Italian reached the main draw from qualifying rounds and served well in them, he found himself lagging behind in the Gasquet match very early on. Gasquet ended up converting 4 out of 5 break points. He saved both break points Bolelli had to finish the match in less than an hour.

Gasquet pulled out of Hertngenbosch last week but that was most likely only to rest after Paris and prepare for the second part of the season as best as possible. He is now to face a much tougher opponent than the Italian against whom he's on a good record. He won one out of the three matches with Raonic. That was two years ago at US Open when he won after three tie breaks in what was an extremely long match. He is now to face an even tougher task on return, especially is he's two meters behind the baseline when the opponent serves again. But he will also have the upper hand in rallies. 

Raonic won three points on the return in the first set yesterday. He passed through with his first serve, and that is ideal for this bet. He hasn't played many matches, and there are his usual problems with movement on grass. Gasquet will know how to use that with his serve. He can win his own service games and even without a lot of winners. On the other hand, it is really, really hard to return Raonic's serve in these conditions. Especially for Gasquet if he will be set defensively again. In two of their three head-to-head matches, the first set went into the tiebreak. In each of their matches they played at least one tiebreak, six time in ten sets. I expect a predictable course of the first set here as well, and one of them will later catch better rhythm or start making more risks, as it usually goes.