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Raonic could be called Johansson's successor

This is a match between two players completely oriented towards their service, and every chance is worth gold. Johansson's been amazing so far, and you can see why he used to be the ninth player in the world. Raonic needs points for London, and you can expect "the war of serves"

Joachim Johansson's comeback wasn't taken really seriously on this tournament since the former ninth player announced this is the only competition he plans on playing. The reason, as he put it, is to see where his current position would be, but his comeback gains more and more attention.

He basically walked through the qualifiers, and showed some excellent tennis even in the first round where the draw gave him Falla, a player not to be played around with. However, it should be noted that his season so far hasn't been the brightest. Winning with only four lost games suggests more than Falla having a bad day. It's also confirmed with the final statistics - the Swede had almost perfect numbers. He can boast with 39 winners, and his service reminded us of his old glory, as well. He had 11 aces, and 84% points after the first service, which is amazing.

- I had some minor problems because he's a leftie, and I haven't played with that kind of player for a long time. I got my rhythm soon after, and hit the ball the way I wanted to. It was all done pretty quick, and I didn't get too tired, which is good for me - Johansson commented on the game and his return. He concluded he might even be better than before.

That segment of the game is definitely something he'll need to have in the next round, where he meets Raonic. Raonic might be the player with the best service these days. Canadian could be called Johansson's successor in a way, they're both very similar players. The difference is that the service is a bit more dangerous, and combined with a great self-confidence (like right now), there's probably not a single player who likes meeting him across the net.

Raonic has a season with a lot of changes behind him, and those are proven to be more successful by the day. Even though cooperating with Ljubicic didn't start on the right foot, coming to the American courts changed everything. He entered the Top 10 for the first time in his career. He's out of the elite now, but the tennis he showed on the last few tournaments is definitely fit for the position. 

He played three Asian tournaments and left a great impression, with ten wins. He got the title and the finals, and he remembers the last tournament in Shangai, where he was stopped by an excellent Wawrinka in the third round. The lot didn't do well for him, and fatigue had its role there as well since his previous two weeks were quite demanding. The Swiss won fair and square, but not easily, so you could say the Canadian kept his level.

Raonic won't get any rest this week either - he asked for and got an invitation. He took the position of the second seed player that got him off the hook from the first round. He definitely won't lack any motivation because the points could lead his way to London. 

-It's nice to be back in Stockholm. I only played here once, and I can say it was a good experience - former semifinalist of this tournament commented before the tournament started.

This will be a match between two "atomic servers", and we should definitely see some great services. Raonic is expectedly a favorite, but Johansson showed he's ready by now, and he could be a tough nut to crack if he keeps playing like he did so far. 

This has become an almost standard bet with Raonic, so there is no reason not to continue in the same vein. Furthermore, I think there are more of them than before, but, surprisingly we have the best odds yet. Johansson is playing at 100% and is showing why he used to be ranked at number nine. He went through qualifier not losing a single set or even his serve, carrying that form into the first round - beating Falla losing only four games and playing impressively (39 winners). So far he scored 38 aces and if he stays concentrated, I think he could be an equal opponent. His advantages are playing at Sweden and home atmosphere, so I think betting on the first set would be most valuable. Among all the possible bets, I choose this one with good odds. Furthermore I think it would be a good bet over 9.5 games for the first set, as well as the games handicap on the Swede.