Milos Raonic kicked off his 10th Australian Open campaign with a convincing win over Lorenzo Giustino, dispatching the Lucky Loser entrant 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 with dominant ease. The 29-year-old Canadian has lost his opening round match in Melbourne only once in his career.

The former Canadian No.1, who now finds himself third in national rankings behind compatriots Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime, showed he’s just as much of a Grand Slam contender as his up-and-coming compatriots in his first-round encounter, which was finished in one hour, 27 minutes of play, over the course of two days. A rain delay postponed the last two games of the match, with the Canadian needing to step out onto court for just a few short minutes to book his spot into the second round.

Raonic was ruthlessly efficient behind his own serve and largely untroubled by the serve of the Italian – uncharacteristically breaking several times and showing off improved fitness after a long injury layoff since September last season. He struck 9 aces, 40 winners and committed 24 unforced errors in what was a perfect start to his Aussie Open.

He is the first Canadian player to win his opening round match, with Shapovalov being upset the previous day. Three other Canadians could join their compatriot in round two, as Auger-Aliassime, Vasek Pospisil and Leylah Annie Fernandez are all in action on Day 2.

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