Australian Open: Milos Raonic sinks pale Alexander Zverev to enter quarters

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This was the 15th Grand Slam in a career for Alexander Zverev and he failed to reach the quarters for the 14th time, losing to a player who has shown more in the opening eight days and who will now face Borna Coric or Lucas Pouille for the place in the semis.

Serving at 69%, Milos fired 15 aces and he delivered some good numbers behind the serve, playing against only one break point and keeping the pressure on Sascha all the time. After a solid performance against Alex Bolt in the previous round, the German was thoroughly outplayed in the opening two sets today, never finding the rhythm on serve or the way to impose his shots at least in own service games.

He fought better in the third set where he saved two match points before the tie break but there was no way to stay in the encounter despite having the lead in the breaker. Zverev had six aces and terrible ten double faults, hitting 21 winners and 23 unforced errors which was way bellow Milos 45 winners and 24 errors, with the Canadian creating no less than 20 break points and converting six of those to bring the match home.

Sascha broke in the opening game of the match but he couldnt draw much from that, facing six break points in game two and suffering a break after a crosscourt forehand winner from Raonic. Milos served well in the rest of the set and we cant say the same for Zverev who got broken again in game four thanks to a backhand slice winner from the Canadian.

With the momentum on his side, Raonic scored another break at 4-1 with a volley winner, closing the set with an ace in the following game for a 6-1 in 34 minutes. A forehand winner offered another break to Milos at the start of the second set and he never looked back, serving well and moving 4-1 up when Sascha double faulted in game five, demolishing his racquet to receive a warning.

Serving to stay in the set at 1-5, Zverev lost serve once again following a return winner from Raonic who needed just over an hour to forge a massive lead before set number three. The German finally started to show something, staying in touch with Milos until 4-5 when he saved two match points on serve to prolong the match and his slim chances.

He also had a 4-2 advantage in the tie break before netting a weak backhand and keep Milos in. The Canadian won two points on serve and he used his slice in a great way to keep the power away from the ball in the 10th point, drawing another error from Zverev and securing the win with a volley winner in the 12th point, wrapping up an excellent day at the office and moving into the last eight where he should be the favorite again.

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