Milos Raonic begins his Estoril Open campaign against big hitting Igor Andreev today.
As a man who bases his game around a ferocious serve and finesse at the net, clay would not seem like the most natural surface for Raonic but the big Canadian has shown a considerable aptitude for the surface over the past couple of weeks. He reached the third round in Monte Carlo and Barcelona and as fifth seed he has the opportunity to make a real impact at the Estoril Open.
Clay is Andreev's best surface but the past couple of years have been tough for the Russian who has slipped from a career best ranking of 18, all the way down to 100. He has not won back to back matches on the tour since October.
His chances seem slim against the ATP Tour's newest star but Andreev won their only previous encounter 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in Kuala Lumpur last autumn and the clay in Estoril is about as slow as it gets.
Andreev will be hoping he can trap Raonic is long, protracted rallies and exploit the bigger man's lack of mobility at the back of the court with his heavy topspin forehand. However Raonic has shown plenty of patience and a willingness to grind out results over the past fortnight and he will be favourite.
Prediction: Raonic in three
