Raonic Fires 19 Aces To Book Dimitrov Clash In Antwerp
Milos Raonic produced a fine serving display to reach his fifth quarter-final of the year on Thursday, beating Cameron Norrie 7-5, 7-6(4) at the European Open in Antwerp.
The fifth seed landed 19 aces and dropped just four points behind his first serve (34/38) to overcome the Brit in one hour and 49 minutes. Raonic is through to his second straight quarter-final on indoor hard courts, having reached the semi-finals at last week’s St. Petersburg Open (l. to Coric).
[WATCH LIVE 1]Raonic improves to 19-8 this season and will face Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals. Dimitrov will enter his sixth ATP Head2Head encounter against the Canadian with a 3-2 record, but Raonic won the pair’s most recent clash at the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open.
Raonic is attempting to capture his first ATP Tour title since beating Roger Federer to win his eighth tour-level trophy at 2016 Brisbane. The World No. 19 has reached seven finals since that triumph, including this year’s Western & Southern Open championship match (l. to Djokovic).