Raonic defeats Tsonga at Madrid, will face Djokovic in quarter-finals

MADRID – Canada’s Milos Raonic advanced to the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters with a 6-4, 6-4 win over seventh-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Raonic, who often beats his opponents with his big serve, managed just five aces in the match. But he converted on 92 per cent of first serve points and 71 per cent of seven serve points, and broke Tsonga on two of four opportunities.

Raonic, the 11th seed in Madrid, saved both break point opportunities he faced to defeat Tsonga in one hour 12 minutes.

The win evened the career series between Raonic and Tsonga. The Frenchman won the first two, including a marathon at the 2012 London Olympics that was decided by a 25-23 third set.

While Tsonga has beaten Raonic twice on the hard surface favoured by Raonic, the Canadian has now defeated Tsonga in two straight matches on clay.

Raonic will face top-seed Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. The Serb star cruised past Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-1 in the third round.