Rafael Nadal Destroys Milos Raonic 6-4 6-0 In Semifinals Of Barcelona Open.

Wow, Rafael Nadal exposed some areas of Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic game. First, Milos started well holding serve and breaking Nadal’s serve. However, the problem in this match is Milos began to panic as Nadal read his serve. Milos is used to serving many aces in a match. Since Nadal is one of the elite players he has an excellent return of serve and Milos wasn’t able to hold serve. Milos tried different tactics such as coming to net the problem was his volleys weren’t crisp or sharp enough. By volleying the ball into the open space Nadal simply chased the ball down and passed Raonic.

Another area where Milos Raonic needs to improve is his backhand. Nadal was relentless he pounded Raonic backhand and he exposed his weaker side. Since Raonic is six foot five, he’s never going to be the fastest player on the ATP Tour. Raonic has improved his movement but he needs to improve it even more to compete with the very best. Raonic also needs to improve the backhand he kept on running around the forehand but he left himself vulnerable for Nadal to attack the open space.

Finally, I think Raonic had a positive week despite losing so easily to Nadal this is a learning experience for him. He defended his semifinal points from last year in Barcelona and he’s ranked number thirteen in the world. Raonic is getting better on clay he had a big win over Tommy Robredo in the quarterfinals a former French Open quarterfinalist.

Raonic and his coach Galo Blanco should be watching the tape of this match over and over. If Raonic wants to get into the top 10 and be a fixture among the best in men’s tennis he needs to improve his backhand and movement.