Raonic Upsets Murray In Barcelona; Nadal Crushes Tipsarevic

(April 27, 2012) Big, hard-serving players like Milos Raonic used to be an afterthought when the clay-court season began.

Not anymore.

Proving that John Isner isn't the only big man with a thunderous serve that can win on clay, Raonic took out the heavily favored Andy Murray in straight sets today, 6-4, 7-6(3).

The victory was Raonic's first-ever win over a top four opponent. Raonic will face David Ferrer in the semifinals tomorrow. "To have my first win over, let's say the big four, it's something to be really proud of," said Raonic.

The 21-year-old world No. 25 came out of the gates serving lights-out, placing immense pressure on Murray to hold serve. In the seventh game, that pressure proved to be too much for Murray.

Murray tried to lure Raonic to the net with drop shots on consecutive points, but Raonic was unfazed by the tactic. He forced a Murray error with a neat backhand volley on the first point, and when Murray tried it again at 15-30, Raonic responded with a deep forehand slice, then swatted away Murray's lob attempt for 15-40.

On the ensuing break point opportunity, Murray netted a forehand on the third shot of the rally to give the Canadian an advantage he wouldn't relinquish. Losing only four points on serve in the set and serving eight aces, Raonic served the set out to love, sending a blistering forehand down the line on set point.

"The serve definitely helps," said Raonic afterwards. "But then also it's just about believing and sticking to what I know how to do best."

In the second set, Raonic would encounter a bit of turbulence while serving for the match in the tenth game. After breaking in the ninth game, Raonic got a little tight, botching overheads on the first two points of the game.

He then netted a forehand on Murray's second break point of the game, giving Murray the break for 5-all.

In the second set tiebreaker, Raonic jumped out to a lead of 3-0 and never looked back. Murray did save two match points from 6-1, but Raonic took the next point on his serve, finally forcing the error from Murray with a crosscourt backhand after a long rally.

Nadal Crushes Tipsarevic

Rafael Nadal breezed into the semifinals, winning a whopping 81 percent of second serve return points to break Janko Tipsarevic five times en route to a 6-2, 6-2 drubbing.

The win is Nadal's 33rd in 34 career matches at Barcelona, with Nadal's only loss coming at the hands of Alex Corretja in 2003.

The six-times Barcelona champion saved all four break points he faced in the first set today. "You cannot expect an easy match against the No. 8 in the world," said Nadal. "Today is a very good result for me."

Nadal will face 2010 Barcelona champion Fernando Verdasco in tomorrow's semifinals. Verdasco passed through to when Kei Nishikori was forced to retire in the first set due to back problems.

In the fourth quarterfinal, David Ferrer saved three match points in the second set to get past Feliciano Lopez, 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3. The three-time finalist is through to his sixth consecutive semifinal at Barcelona.