If this is the new and improved Milos Raonic,the rest of the ATP Tour better take notice in 2019.

Raonic produced a glittering performance on Rod Laver Arena on Monday afternoon, efficiently dismissing Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-1, 7-6(5) in a tidy one hour and 59 minutes. The Canadian booked his spot in the Australian Open quarter-finals for the fourth time in five years. He will await either Borna Coric or Lucas Pouille next.

“The tension was palpable in the end,” Raonic said after sealing the win on his fourth match point. “I tried to keep him off pace and make him as uncomfortable as possible. It worked today.”

For the first hour and three minutes, Raonic could do no wrong. He broke a rattled Zverev four times in a row to surge to a 6-1, 6-1 lead. The German claimed the initial advantage with a break in the opening game of the match, but it was one-way traffic from there for the Canadian.

One of Raonic’s 15 aces sealed the first set and a return winner gave him the second. Zverev started to find his rhythm in the third set, but it was too late. He saved two match points at 4-5 15/40 and one more at 4/6 in the ensuring tie-break, but Raonic would eventually clinch the victory with a volley winner on his fourth opportunity.

Raonic now owns a 2-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, having also prevailed in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon in 2017. Zverev’s lone win came at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome earlier that year.

The former World No. 3 continues his quest to return to the Top 10 after suffering from a litany of injury issues. He most recently withdrew from the Rolex Paris Masters in October with an elbow injury, after undergoing a wrist operation the year before. Now sitting at No. 17 in the ATP Rankings, the 28-year-old is projected to rise to at least No. 14 with his quarter-final run.

Raonic has enjoyed great success this fortnight against tricky competition. After defeating Nick Kyrgios in straight sets, he proceeded to rally past former champion Stan Wawrinka and edge Pierre-Hugues Herbert, before routing World No. 4 Zverev. It was Raonic’s first Top 5 win since last year’s Mutua Madrid Open, when he ousted Grigor Dimitrov in the first round.

Former World No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam singles titlist Yevgeny Kafelnikov will soon be able to call himself a “Hall of Famer”.

The Russian, who retired in 2003, will be inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame this July in Newport. Kafelnikov, who was Russia’s first Grand Slam singles champion, said, “I’m very honoured to become a Hall of Famer and to represent Russia among tennis’ greatest champions.”

The Sochi native captured his first major singles title in 1996 at Roland Garros. That same event, he partnered with Daniel Vacek to win the doubles title. No man since has won the singles and doubles titles at the same major.

Kafelnikov was also the singles champion at the 1999 Australian Open, and he won four Grand Slam doubles titles – three at Roland Garros and one at the US Open. In all, Kafelnikov won 26 tour-level singles titles and 27 tour-level doubles titles.

The Russian complemented his No. 1 ATP Ranking in singles with a doubles career-high of No. 4. Kafelnikov is also an Olympic gold medalist, having won at the 2000 Games in Sydney, and he was integral to Russia’s 2002 Davis Cup title.

He will be inducted alongside former WTA greats Li Na of China and France’s Mary Pierce. The three are being inducted in the Player Category. This is not a year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame’s other two categories – Contributor and Wheelchair.

The three former players will join an elite group of just over 250 individuals hailing from 23 nations who have received the honour, which recognizes their career as being among the most accomplished and impactful in the history of tennis.

“It’s a pleasure to congratulate Li Na, Mary Pierce, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and to welcome them to the International Tennis Hall of Fame,” stated Hall of Fame President Stan Smith. “They are three incredibly hard-working athletes who set and achieved goals at tennis’ highest levels. This is a well-deserved honour, and we look forward to celebrating them as Hall of Famers in Newport in July.”

Li Na, Pierce, and Kafelnikov will be officially inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on 20 July, during Hall of Fame Weekend in Newport, Rhode Island. Ticket packages for the weekend are on sale now on tennisfame.com/enshrinement with individual Induction Ceremony tickets going on sale on 1 February.

Additionally, the Class of 2019 will be celebrated in a tribute exhibit in the museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, chronicling their lives and careers, which will open in June and be displayed for one year. 

Roger Federer announced that he will play on clay in 2019 after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday evening.

The Swiss’ last match on the surface came at the 2016 Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Federer did not compete on clay in 2017-18 to give his body a break ahead of the grass season. According to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone, the 37-year-old ranks third among active players (behind Nadal and Djokovic) in winning percentage on clay at 75.9 per cent.

“I’m at a moment where I think it would be nice to do it,” said Federer, in French. “I can say I have missed it, I did the right thing skipping it last year, the year before as well, and the year before that I was injured. So I felt I wanted to do it again.”

The 2009 Roland Garros champion and four-time finalist may have surprised some with his decision. But for the Swiss, his rationale is simple, and it has to do with his love for the sport.

“I’m in a phase where I want to have fun,” he said.