Raonic Races Through Aussie Opener

Facing Lucas Pouille for the second time in as many weeks, No. 13 seed Milos Raonic scored his second straight win over the Frenchman 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes to move into the second round at the Australian Open.

Raonic, who had defeated Pouille 6-4, 6-4 en route to the title match in Brisbane, where he downed Roger Federer for only the second time in 11 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, wasted little time establishing his 6-foot-5 presence on Tuesday in Melbourne, securing an early break and a quick 3-0 advantage. The 14^th-ranked Canadian’s second break of the afternoon provided a 5-1 lead, and he would subsequently consolidate for the set.

The 25-year-old would open the second set with his third service break, before adding his fourth and final in the closing set to put the match out of reach. He finished with 12 aces and 39 winners to 20 unforced errors.

Last year, Raonic posted his career-best Australian Open result by reaching the quarter-finals, where he fell to eventual titlist Novak Djokovic. This is his first tournament with new coaching staff addition Carlos Moya, an Australian Open runner-up in 1997. He continues to work with Riccardo Piatti.

Pouille, coached by Emmanuel Planque, has now lost in the first round in seven of his eight Grand Slam appearances.

Fellow Frenchman Stephane Robert had more luck in his first-round match, defeating American Bjorn Fratangelo in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.