Raonic conquers Apulia

There was a lot of love to be done.

How much was it upset? Here is the scene: The nicest that we could have said of Apulia in this country before this tournament is that he never had to stay away from his home. On five occasions at the Australian Open, he had not won a match. One was against Raonic, but there were no superstars among his winners. This year, Pouille had lost all three games in the Hopman Cup and against Andrey Rublev in the first round in Sydney. This left a lot of time for practice. He admirably admits it.

Until a certain point, it's an unfair vignette sketch. Puglia would not have escaped the aficionados. He had gone to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2016 and last year he was briefly in the top 10. He had flourished and was an advertisement for the French system, as well as Juvenile virility and mineral water. But he was well disguised from the whole world, dressed in his uniform of all time, inverted cap, gestures and extravagant manners.

Apulia's record against Raonic was a piece with their global work bodies. In three previous encounters, Pouille had managed to pull Raonic's loot once. He lost it, of course. In this tournament, Apulia was the most exotic character with his series of unexpected victories. But Raonic had beaten better players by wider margins and, in the round of 32, had broken the fourth favorite Alexander Zverev. He was known; He had played in a final at Wimbledon in 2016 and that same year, he still had sore hamstrings for a final here.

This match started with a J curve, not unusual for tennis. Apulia only won one point in the first three games, after which all nodded. The natural order would prevail.

The edge of Raonic held up until it served for the first set, but a flicker was already evident. Raonic's services have given up, the pace and strength of Apulia have accumulated. Duly, he took a Raonic set for the first time in their career.

This result was a monster, but not a stroke of luck.

The coverage of all Apulia areas counterbalanced and then compensated for Raonic's net play, which was becoming fragile anyway. Judging by the appearance of Raonic, the court cover was what he would get if someone had come across him at that time.

Apulia took the lead in the second set with an exquisite lob winner on the back and held it 2-0. For Raonic, luck has melted on form and confidence, as it often happens in tennis.

Puglie continued to beat Raonic in the third set, forcing the Canadiens to fight for service, and came at a time when he was at one point serving the game. Raonic eliminated the referee, as do even the most optimistic tennis players. But he ended up in the decisive game. Another set was in order.

The norm was yeoman rather than breathtaking. The main charm of the match was the fight in the oppressed and the question was whether Raonic could repel him. A series of skillful half-volleyes seemed to prove him right and show him the way. Puglia, however, did not stop telling him, without being worried.

This result was a monster, but not a stroke of luck. "I have put a lot of returns to court to make it play," said Puglia. "I took care of my service and enjoyed the moment, I gave everything on every point – and here I am."

Obscure either. For their field interview, McEnroe flip-flopped, as a tribute. "That's fine with you," Apulph chuckled. "You should do it more often."

This could be the reason for this tournament, the wrong cap that suits anyway. As Puglia said: "There have been many first times this week."