Djokovic Masters Raonic In Madrid

A dominant Novak Djokovic improved to 7-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Milos Raonic with a 6-3, 6-4 quarter-final victory at the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday.

The Serb remains on track to win a record-breaking 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title and will face Kei Nishikori on Saturday. Djokovic has won his past 13 matches against Top 10 players and has only dropped one of 30 sets in that span.

“One of the keys of the match was getting as many returns back in play as possible,” Djokovic said. “I knew that before I stepped on the court that I should not give him too many free points on his serve. That’s where the big servers get a lot of confidence.

“I returned exceptionally well. Every single player, especially big servers, have their patterns when it’s close. But sometimes it’s just instinct. It’s just anticipation, trying to be in the right balance and looking at the toss.”

Raonic, who was broken in his first three matches, only missed three first serves (18/21) in the first set. However, Djokovic neutralised Raonic’s power and converted on the only break point of the opening set to improve to 16-1 in sets against the towering Canadian.

The top-ranked player in the Emirates ATP Rankings reasserted his control over the match early in the second set, breaking Raonic for a second time after the changeover. Raonic raised his level and held three break points as Djokovic served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but ultimately succumbed in one hour and 44 minutes.