Milos Raonic of Canada returns a ball to Ivan Dodig of Croatia during the Barcelona Open tennis tournament, April 21, 2011.ALBERT GEA/Reuters
A frustrated Milos Raonic was dispatched from the Barcelona Open on Thursday as Croatian Ivan Dodig upset the 16th-seeded Canadian 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3 in third-round action.
Dodig needed two hours 15 minutes to defeat the 20-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., who will now head to an ATP Tour event in Estoril, Portugal for his third straight clay-court competition leading up to the French Open.
Raonic, ranked a career-best 28th in the world, dropped his overall record to 20 wins and seven losses after facing a fellow young gun who recently won his first tournament.
Raonic was disappointed with his mental attitude Thursday and said improving that will be his main focus in upcoming practice sessions.
"I wish I could have done better but I had a bad attitude," he said. "I let things get to me instead of looking for a way to win.
"I was not at all happy with my game and it showed - I was frustrated."
Raonic couldn't mount a third-set comeback at the Real Club as Dodig kept him on the defensive with two service breaks. The 25-year-old Croatian, ranked 56th in the world, took a 5-1 lead before Raonic pulled to within 5-2 with a break of his own. But the Canadian couldn't do much after that before ultimately losing.
"He was getting to a lot of balls and staying calm as well," said Raonic. "I have to stay level-headed and work on trying to win. It was little things in my game letting me down and I let them bother me.
"I need to step back and not get angry, try to see the big picture in a match."
Raonic, who also won his first pro tournament earlier this year, and Dodig battled in a marathon first set that lasted an hour. But the Canadian missed his chance on set point in the 10th game.
Instead of taking a comfortable lead, Raonic found himself tied 5-5 and then was forced to save a break point in the 11th game to hold serve.
The set eventually went to a tiebreaker but Dodig dominated that en route to the victory.
Raonic showed promise in the second set, registering a break for a 4-3 lead. But Dodig returned the favour a game later to make it 4-4 before Raonic captured the set.