Round of 16. Moutet def Raonic

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[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-microphone”] Match Recap from Announcer Andy Taylor, Voice of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open

Corentin Moutet advances to the Quarterfinals

World #81 Corentin Moutet has won four matches to start the New Year: A pair of qualifiers over the weekend, plus wins over Tennys Sandgren and former World #3 Milos Raonic.

And what a fun player to watch – with mixed pace, winning lobs, creative tactics, and relentless defense. It’s the type of Santoro, Niculescu, Radwanska madness that punishes players who depend on a specific rhythm and repetition. Ask one of the hardest servers in the game, Milos Raonic.

Provided he didn’t injure himself on his victory leap, Corentin is going to make life difficult for Verdasco in the Quarters. The Spaniard spent over 2-hours on court with Krajinovic today and came into this year’s event nursing a leg-pull.

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[Q] Corentin Moutet -81- (FRA)| Round-2 Announcer Introduction

Here in Doha for the first time, this 20-year-old ATP Next Gen Southpaw qualified over the weekend with straight-sets victories over Andrej Martin and Alexei Popyrin. Then on Monday, he defeated American Tennys Sandgren to reach tonight’s 2nd-Round match. He owns 4 ATP Challenger Tour Singles titles, is a 6-time Challenger Finalist – and last season, earned his biggest Tour-victory to date at Roland Garros – upsetting World #23 Guido Pella to reach the 3rd-Round of a Major for the first time. Then at Wimbledon, he upset Grigor Dimitrov in the 1st-Round and climbed to a career-high ranking of World #80. Through to the Round of 16 in his Qatar ExxonMobil Open debut – From France, this is Corentin Moutet.

▲ R2 — def [4] Milos Raonic -32- (CAN) | Score: 76(3) 76(4) ▲ R1 — def Tennys Sandgren -68- (USA) | Score: 76(3) 64 | RECAP ▲ QR2 — def Alexei Popyrin -97- (AUS) | Score: 62 64 | RECAP ▲ QR1 — def Andrej Martin -107- (SVK) | Score: 64 64 | RECAP

Announcer Corner | Corentin Moutet

Like most French talents, Corentin Moutet is a solid clay courter. Last May, he cracked the ATP’s top-100 for the first time after a tremendous 3-weeks. At Roland Garros, he reached the 3rd-Round of a Grand Slam for the first time, upsetting Guido Pella in the 2nd-Round. After losing a tough 5-setter to Juan Ignacio Londero, he hopped a train back to Lyon where he won his 4th ATP Challenger title.

At Wimbledon, he won his first three Grand Slam Qualifying matches, then took-out Grigor Dimitrov on Day-1. It was mojo-boosting victory. Down 2-sets to love, Moutet won the third in a tiebreak, allowing Grigor only four games the rest of the way. Though he fell to Felix Auger-Aliassime in Round-2 – by the end of the fortnight, the Frenchman climbed to a career-high ranking of World #80.

A gifted piano player, keep an eye on the maestro in 2020.

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[4] Milos Raonic -32- (CAN) | Round-2 Announcer Introduction

With first serves that clock at nearly 250 kilometers per hour, he is one of the most powerfully accurate servers in the history of the sport. Combine that with an all-court game, it’s no wonder he’s captured 8 ATP Singles titles in 22 career Finals. He’s a Wimbledon Finalist, has been ranked as high as World #3, and has reached the Semifinals of the year-end ATP Finals. And with multiple victories over former champions Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray – this week, he is looking to become the first Canadian to capture the Doha Singles title. Making his Qatar ExxonMobil Open debut, from Canada – He is “The Maple Leaf Missile,” Milos Raonic.

▼ R2 — loss [Q] Corentin Moutet -81- (FRA) | Score: 67(3) 67(4) ▲ R1 — Bye

Announcer Corner | Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic has been part of several historic matches during his career. Unfortunately, he’s been on the losing-end every time.

During the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Raonic fell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a best-of-three-sets match that included 66-games. The final Round-2 score: 6-3 3-6 25-23. It broke the record for the most number of games played in the best-of-three, tiebreaker Olympic format. Additionally, set-3 still holds the record for most games played in a single Olympic set.

In 2014, Milos and Kei Nishikori punished each other for 4-hours and 19-minutes in the 4th-Round of the US Open. The match ended at 2:26a – which tied the record for latest finish in US Open history. Kei won the match 4-6 7-6(4) 67(6) 75 64 – a tremendous comeback down 2 sets to 1. Two other previous US Open matches ended at 2:26a. Mats Wilander’s 5-set, Round-2 win over Michael Pernfors in 1993. And Philipp Kohlschreiber’s 5-set, Round-3 win over John Isner in 2012.

But wait, there’s more — Milos enjoyed his best season in 2016. He started the year with a win over Roger Federer to lift the trophy in Brisbane, then reached the Semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. He was a Finalist at Indian Wells, Queens Club, then defeated Federer again to reach his first Grand Slam Final at Wimbledon. By season’s end, he cracked the top-5 and qualified for the year-end ATP Finals. There, he played the longest match in ATP Finals history, falling to Andy Murray in the Semifinals 5-7 7-6(5) 6-7(9). To this day, Milos claims that 3-hour 38-minute epic was the best match he’s ever contested.

2019 | Milos Raonic

Last season, injury interrupted the Canadian’s momentum twice. A knee-issue cancelled his clay season, and a glute-pull kept him away from the US Open. His ranking fell from World #14 in January, to outside the top-30 by October. But his final match of the season was encouraging. Facing World #5 Dominic Thiem at the Paris Masters, Raonic fell 6-7(5) 7-5 4-6. Though he lost the Round-2 battle, the match whet his appetite for positive momentum in new year.

While Milos was not a part of Canada’s historic run to November’s Davis Cup Final in Madrid, he remains a giant in the team’s legacy. In 2013, he was a member of the Davis Cup Team that won the first two World Group Ties in Canada’s history, leading his nation to its first World Group Semifinal.