Raonic crowned Thailand Open champion

September 29, 2013 04:33 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 09:03 pm IST - BANGKOK

Milos Raonic (left) holds his trophy after winning the final against Tomas Berdych in the Thailand Open tennis tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday. Raonic won 7-6, 6-3. Photo: AP

Milos Raonic (left) holds his trophy after winning the final against Tomas Berdych in the Thailand Open tennis tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday. Raonic won 7-6, 6-3. Photo: AP

Milos Raonic of Canada upset top-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 6-3 to claim his fifth title at the Thailand Open on Sunday.

The No. 11-ranked Raonic put up 18 aces to beat his No. 6-ranked opponent in the final at the Impact Arena in one hour, 17 minutes.

In the doubles final, third-seeded Jamie Murray of Great Britain and John Peers of Australia beat fourth-seeded Tomasz Bednarek of Poland and Johan Brunstrom of Sweden 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.

It was Raonic’s fifth tour victory, adding to the three in San Jose from 2011-13 and Chennai in 2012. He also improved his unbeaten record over Berdych to 2-0 after beating the Czech player in the Cincinnati Masters last year.

Berdych had his chances in the match with a set point at 6-5 in the first but Raonic used his big serve to force a weak return before sending a forehand winner to escape. The Canadian player then relied on powerful serves to force the tie-break, which he sealed with another booming serve.

Raonic managed an early break in the second game to take a 2-0 lead in the second after Berdych netted two successive shots. At 5-3, Raonic produced another ace to set up a championship point before blasting a forehand winner to take the match.

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