By Alberto Amalfi | Friday, January 6, 2017
"I’m very happy with myself how I competed obviously against such a great player and competitor as Rafa," said Milos Raonic after beating Rafael Nadal in the Brisbane quarterfinals.
Photo credit: Brisbane International
Milos Raonic hammered his way out of a hole rallying past Rafael Nadal into the Brisbane semifinals.
The defending Brisbane champion cracked 23 aces and fired his forehand with authority defeating the former world No. 1, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, to surge into the semifinals for the third straight year.
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“It was a great match tonight,” Raonic said afterward. “I’m very happy with myself how I competed obviously against such a great player and competitor as Rafa.”
It was Raonic’s first win over Nadal since a 4-6, 7-6 (10), 7-5 victory in the 2015 Indian Wells’ quarterfinals. In that match, Raonic fought off three match points in the tie break to rally past Nadal and reach the Indian Wells semifinals for the first time.
The fifth-seeded Nadal moved well and struck with authority building a one set, 3-all lead today.
Then Raonic found his range and reeled off four consecutive games to take charge.
“I played very well, I did a lot of very good things,” said Raonic, who scored his first break for a 5-3 second-set lead. “I obviously served well. I started creating opportunities. I was dictating, which wasn't necessarily the case at the beginning."
In retrospect, Nadal said the mid-match lapse cost him.
"I had 10 minutes that were very hard, and playing against a player like him, that's terrible," Nadal said. "He played aggressive, he played great, his returns on my serve during those games were very, very aggressive, and the serve was huge."
The victory vaults Raonic into a semifinal test against 2013 Brisbane finalist Grigor Dimitrov.
In a battle of sweeping one-handed backhands, the seventh-seeded Bulgarian showed resolve fighting off 13 of 14 break points in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 triumph over fourth-seeded Dominic Thiem.
Dimitrov has won two of three meetings with the 2015 Wimbledon finalist with both victories coming on Australian soil. Dimitrov defeated Raonic, 6-3, 6-4, in the 2013 Brisbane round of 16 and backed it up a year later with a four-set win at the Australian Open.
“A difficult match,” Raonic said of his impending semifinal. “I played him here my first time around in Brisbane. It didn’t turn out so great for me. So hopefully, I can change that storyline tomorrow in a great semifinal. I really look forward to coming back out here again.”