Raonic Hangs on to Upset Wawrinka in Melbourne

Canadian Milos Raonic held off an inspired comeback from fourth-seed and former champion Stan Wawrinka on Monday, beating the Swiss 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second straight year.

The 13th-seeded Raonic broke for a 5-4 lead in the opening set, and proceeded to consolidate that break with a hold to close out the opening set. In the second, Wawrinka jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead, only to see Raonic rattle off six of the next seven games to take a two sets to love lead.

The big-serving Canadian displayed some more depth to his game, as he was coming to the net a lot in the second set and showed off some outstanding volleys, giving Wawrinka a lot of trouble. But the Swiss made the proper adjustments and began to attack that net game.

Each player held serve through the first 10 games of the third set, until Wawrinka came through with a break for a 6-5 lead, and closed it out on serve to force a fourth set.

Wawrinka would capture the lone break of the fourth set and committed just six unforced errors to push Raonic into a fifth set. The Canadian dug in, though, and held his nerve, not giving Wawrinka a single break point chance, and converting one of his own for a 4-2 lead. He would go on to serve out the set and match to book his spot in the Australian Open final eight for a second consecutive year.

“I was volleying the first volley really well. I was finishing the points. I was putting pressure on him. I was giving him a situation maybe that he wasn’t too comfortable in,” said Raonic. “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. I’m happy with the situation I’ve put myself in. At the same time, as happy as I am, my mind is already on what’s the process for my next challenge.”

And that next challenge will be a quarterfinal showdown with 23rd seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, who took out Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) on Monday.

Monfils hit 44 winners to just 32 unforced errors to reach the Australian Open quarters for the first time in his career. The Frenchman is 2-0 in his career against Raonic, but the two haven’t played one another since 2013.

Spaniard David Ferrer continued his lights out performance in Melbourne, defeating 10th seeded American John Isner 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. The eighth seed saved all three break points he faced, and notched one break of serve in each set to routinely move past Isner in two hours and four minutes.

Ferrer has not dropped a set through his first four matches in Melbourne.

“I’m very happy,” said Ferrer. “A quarterfinal without losing a set. My fitness is okay. It’s important in the second week to be in good condition.”

Ferrer will take on second-seed Andy Murray, who dismissed 16th seeded Australian Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4).

“It’s going to be tough,” Ferrer said of the challenge. “He’s playing really good. He’s improved his game, I think. He’s playing more aggressively. He’s improved his forehand. So I need to have a good day and play aggressive.”