Competing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the second straight season, Milos Raonic was vying for a place in the semis for the first time since 2016, but World No.2 Novak Djokovic had other plans. He extended his perfect 9-0 record against the Canadian with a three-set victory (6-4, 6-3, 7-6(1)).
See you in 2021 @milosraonic 👊#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/b5FRl7S9WU
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2020
The first set was so exceedingly tight that the first break only came in the tenth game. It took the Djoker over ten minutes to convert his ninth break point and break Raonic for the first time since the start of the tournament to claim the first set.
The second unfolded a bit differently. Djokovic quickly took a 4-1 lead to widen the gap as the Canadian struggled with his first serves and unforced errors.
Raonic seemed to have found his bearings in the third and took his opponent all the way to a tiebreaker, but Djokovic got a stranglehold on the match and closed things out on a 6-1 lead. He is now set to battle Roger Federer in the semifinal after the Swiss Maestro outmaneuvered Tennys Sandgren of the US in five sets.
Serbian sensation 🇷🇸@DjokerNole def. Milos Raonic 6-4 6-3 7-6(1) to advance to his eighth #AusOpen semifinal, where he will meet Roger Federer for the 50th time. #AO2020 pic.twitter.com/ElT6H9jDAE
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2020
In the mixed doubles but out of the women’s doubles for Dabrowski
Joining forces for the first time since April 2019, Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia lost to Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (4) of the Czech Republic in the women’s doubles event.
Dabrowski and Ostapenko got things off to a strong start in the second game of the first set, but Krejcikova and Siniakova found their rhythm in the second to level the playing field and force a third.
Despite an early break in the third set, Dabrowski and Ostapenko couldn’t keep the momentum going as the Czech pair coasted into the semifinals.
In mixed doubles, Gabriela Dabrowski and Henri Kontinen (4) secured their ticket to the quarters with a two-set win over Moore and Ebden of Australia (7-5, 7-6(5)).