Raonic’s win was the biggest upset of the day. “So it’s not just about a confidence, it’s about an understanding of what I need to do, where you go in certain situations, how not only to finish the points, how to defend a little bit better at the net and how to cover and move better to make the opponent think”. He won the first two sets clean at 6-4, 6-4.
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She said: “I always look forward to play against her”, she said of the German, whom she has defeated in their past six matches, including the recent Brisbane final. The hyper-aggressive Canadian crashed the net with alacrity in the early stages, claiming 17 of 25 such points in the first and second sets.
Raonic, who dedicated his third-round win over Viktor Troicki to victims of last week’s school shooting which left four dead, has yet to beat shotmaker Monfils in their two meetings so far.
Wawrinka came from two sets down but could not win the decider as Raonic won 6-4 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-3 to book his place in the quarter-finals.
Murray lost his service twice but broke Tomic s serve three times on the way to taking the opening set in 47 minutes. The 29-year-old Frenchman is in the midst of his deepest run at the year’s first major. “I wasn’t really feeling great, wasn’t moving well”. “I’m very happy with the way I played, the way I competed, the way I turned things around after sort of having the momentum against me going into the fifth”. This is Monfils’ best chance at reaching a grand slam semi-final since 2008 and I think he will realize that and take advantage.
The other two matches on the men’s side went as expected.
Spain’s David Ferrer and Britain’s Andy will also meet in the last eight after they recorded straight-set wins over John Isner and Bernard Tomic respectively. The second-seeded Brit had 18 aces in the three-set romp and almost double as many winners (43) as unforced errors (22). “He’s been rewarded for that with an unbelievably consistent career at the top of the game”.
“Tough match in general”, Wawrinka said.
Andy Murray has admitted that the last few days have been “very tough” following his father-in-law’s health scare. Quite a scrappy match. “Neither of us played our best tennis at the same time”. However, her game soon fell apart. I was finishing the points. He has never reached the quarter-final of the U.S. Open.
The 14th-seeded Azarenka will take on No. 7 Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.
The No. 16 tennis player beat Barbora Strykova in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) Sunday in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Kerber is making her first quarterfinals appearance in Melbourne, while Azarenka is a two-time victor Down Under.
Speaking after the match, Raonic said that this win was the next step for him to try and achieve his goals. He’s in good shape. That reassured the world No 2 that all would be well and he chose to stay and play on. Still, there is reason for optimism.
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The National’s Sport cover for the Tuesday, January 26 issue, featuring Milos Raonic as he reached the Australian Open quarter-finals.
