TENNIS ATP TOKYO – Milos Raonic hit 11 aces to defeat Jurgen Melzer 6-4 6-3 at the Rakuten Japan Open at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo to set up a quarter final clash against Denis Istomin. Kei Nishikori defeated Donald Young 6-4, 7-6. Diego Sampaolo
Milos Raonic hit 11 aces to defeat Jurgen Melzer 6-4 6-3 at the Rakuten Japan Open at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo to set up a quarter final clash against Denis Istomin. Raonic, who played the final in Tokyo in 2012 and 2013, got the break in the 10th game to take the first set in 37 minutes. The young Canadian player cruised to a 3-0 lead in the second set but Melzer reeled off three consecutive games to draw level to 3-3. As Melzer served at 3-4 30-40, Raonic hit a forehand winner to get his third break before wrapping up the match with an ace down the middle.
Raonic will take on Denis Istomin who battled past Michal Przysiezny 6-4 7-6 (7-5) after a thrilling match point. Raonic leads 2-0 in his previous head-to-head matches against Istomin.
This year’s US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori fended off one set point at 5-6 in the second set before getting a mini-break for 6-4 in the tie-break to defeat US Donald Young 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in one hour and 18 minutes.
Nishikori needs to defeat Jeremy Chardy and reach the semifinals to add points to his total score in the Race to the ATP Finals in London.
