Raonic downs Wawrinka in five sets

With a five-set 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3 win against No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, Raonic became the first Canadian to reach all four major quarterfinals.

Raonic then served out the match comfortably not dropping a point in the last game, winning it 6-3 to clinch a quarter-final clash against Frenchman Gael Monfils.

That said, Wawrinka has beaten Rosol on the occasion of each of the players’ previous two meetings in the Davis Cup in 2013 and in Geneva a year ago and he has not dropped a set in dispatching Dmitry Tursunov and Rosol’s countryman Radek Stepanek so far this week.

Raonic will do all he can to end points with a serve, and crush as many forehands as possible from all over the court.

But whereas once Wawrinka maight have gone away, the Swiss has been a different player in the last few years, and a stunning lob brought out a change in fortunes.

Things looked like they may have turned in second game of the second set.

Raonic was ruthlessly efficient in the first two sets, his powerful serve working well and his attack-minded game overwhelming his lethargic looking opponent. “I just want to still keep improving from match to match, because it’s only getting harder from here”, said Azarenka, who hit the practice court straight after the match.

In earlier matches, two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Barbora Strycova 6-2, 6-4.

As does the attention to detail that means Raonic is always seeking marginal gains to add to one of the game’s most destructive serve/forehand combinations.

“I think it’s what helped me win in Brisbane”, he said.

Raonic employed a strategy that employed a big helping of net play to go with his dominating rocket serve. From there, he hit his groundstrokes with greater aplomb and capitalized on Raonic’s untimely mistakes, eventually tying the match at two sets all. Her ensuing opponent is 2015 semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova, into the fourth round in Melbourne for the sixth straight time. You can call it the biggest win of his career.

The 25-year-old Raonic is the first Canadian man to reach all four Grand Slam championship quarter-finals.

“Like always, I’ve got to try to dictate (against Monfils)”. Isner leads the tournament with 101 aces in three matches.

“I thought, ‘This is the best I’ve seen somebody volley in a long time, ‘” said Laurendeau, a serve and volleyer who played in the 1980s and 90s.

Kerber, who saved a match point in her first-round win over Misaki Doi, is into the quarterfinals for the first time in Australia. “Today’s victory was for that community, and a quick recovery and all of Canada, and I’m sure the world is behind you”.

Should Raonic beat Monfils, he will face one of Andy Murray (#2), David Ferrer (#8), John Isner (#10), and Bernard Tomic (#16). A growing favorite for the title in a strong comeback from two injury-interrupted seasons, Azarenka next faces No. 7 Angelique Kerber, who beat fellow German Annika Beck 6-4, 6-0.