Raonic Makes It Eight In Melbourne
Milos Raonic made it through to the Australian Open Round of 16 for the eighth time on Friday, as he overcame Marton Fucsovics 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
The 14th seed landed 47 winners and won 71 per cent of his net points (25/35) to advance in three hours and 13 minutes. With his third win in as many ATP Head2Head encounters against Fucsovics, Raonic improved to 34-10 at Melbourne Park.
Raonic found his best level when it mattered most in the first set. The Canadian landed multiple aces, ripped a forehand winner from outside the tramline and forced Fucsovics into backhand errors to dominate the tie-break and take a one-set lead.
Fucsovics responded well in the second set with an early break. Despite failing to consolidate his advantage, the Hungarian levelled the match by breaking serve at 6-5 with multiple forehand winners.
Fucsovics began to struggle with his movement in the third set and Raonic took full advantage. The 2016 semi-finalist earned back-to-back service breaks in both the third and fourth sets to claim his spot in the Round of 16.
The 30-year-old will attempt to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the sixth time on Sunday. Raonic will face the winner of eight-time champion Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz’s third-round clash on Rod Laver Arena.