Fourth seed Raonic downed Frenchman Lucas Pouille in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in the first match on Pat Rafter Arena.
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“Obviously this win is huge”, the world number 18 said after taking out the second seeded Japanese to set up a semi-final against big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic.
Overall, Raonic was the better player as he managed to secure twenty winners and only let up one break point opportunity.
The top-seed at the Brisbane International offered the Australian a reality check after his strong showing at the tournament.
In a re-match of the 2015 Brisbane International final as Roger Federer faces Milos Raonic in Sunday’s final.
Federer, who had a first round bye, took just 55 minutes to see off Kamke, playing in the main draw of an ATP tournament for the first time since April.
A win over Federer in a re-match of last year’s Brisbane final would be quite the fillip for Raonic as he tries to start 2016 on a positive note, but it’s an extremely tall task – no pun intended.
His serve in the first set was nearly flawless, dropping just two points, and he appeared to be on course with break-point chances for another straight-set victory over the young Bulgarian – sometimes likened to him due to their similar styles – before Dimitrov rallied. “Thankfully I didn’t carry anything over from the first match”. “I’m very excited to be back in the final again”.
It was his eight career crown and revenge for a three-set defeat to Federer in last year’s final in Brisbane.
The Canadian said later the win showed that he could challenge for a Grand Slam title after enduring a tough year in 2015 due to injury. It was the first match between the two since Raonic’s former coach Ivan Ljubicic went over to Camp Federer during the offseason.
He will now move to Melbourne to complete his preparation for his 17th Australian Open, where he will be joined by Doha Open finalists Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
“I really thought I hit the ball very well”, the evergreen 34-year-old, lathered in sweat from the muggy Brisbane heat, said in a courtside interview.
Raonic took full advantage of an out-of-sorts Federer and always looked the more likely to win.
“That’s maybe another step away, but I definitely feel I have it within myself to step up with play great tennis for two weeks”.
“I haven’t followed him much in recent times, but seemed he was good at the IPTL (International Premier Tennis League) and now again at the Hopman Cup”.
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“Hopefully, a better year this year than last”, said Raonic, who reached the quarterfinals at the last Australian Open but didn’t progress past the third round at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open after skipping the French Open with injury.
