Milos Raonic boosted his hopes of inclusion in the ATP World Tour finals by beating Tomas Berdych to land the Thailand Open on Sunday.
The Canadian utilised his big serve to down his Czech opponent in straight sets 7-6 7-3 to leave Bangkok $567, 530 richer and in with a chance of reaching the top eight in the race to London – he was in 11th place prior to this second tour victory of the year.
Raonic blasted 18 aces in all and although the first set went to a tie-break, the Canadian’s serves were always going to be a deciding factor.
“I think I’m playing great tennis, I’m serving really well, I’m doing a lot of good things,” said Raonic.
“If I keep that up I think I’ll have opportunities and will put myself in a good position, no matter who I play.”
He also revealed that the lure of the end-of-season event in London in November spurred him on, saying: “It would mean a lot, it was a goal.”
Only Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have definitely qualified for the event that begins on November 4, with the other five places still very much up for grabs.
However, the Scot is currently recovering from back surgery and is set to miss the London showpiece.
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