Raonic rolls into semis at ATP finals
LONDON — Canada’s Milos Raonic qualified for the semifinals of the ATP Finals with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Dominic Thiem on Thursday.
Raonic fired 14 aces in the match to advance to the semifinals of the marquee tennis event for the first time in his career.
The fourth-ranked player from Thornhill, Ont., never faced break point, and converted two of six break opportunities against his eighth-ranked Austrian opponent.
Raonic finished 2-1 in roundrobin play and second in the Ivan Lendl group. He’ll play the winner of the John McEnroe group, which world No. 1 Andy Murray currently leads with a 2-0 record.
Raonic, who reached the Wimbledon final this year but lost to Murray, ended up with 13 aces and 31 winners against Thiem.
“I stepped up when I had an opportunity in the tiebreak. I stepped up at the beginning of the second set and the end of it,” Raonic said. “There’s a lot definitely to be proud of, playing under that kind of pressure.”
Raonic also said he got some tips this week from McEnroe, who worked with the Canadian during the grass-court season.
“He shares a lot of wisdom with me, a lot of his opinions. I respect that,” Raonic said. “It was a big plus to have him there.”
Earlier, No. 2 Novak Djokovic downed David Goffin 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the semis and finish group play undefeated for the fourth time in the past five years.
Djokovic is playing for a lot more than just a record-tying sixth title at the ATP finals. The second-ranked Serb is also looking to reclaim the No. 1 ranking.
But there are some more matches to play before the 12-time Grand Slam champion can be assured of finishing another season as the top-ranked player.
“Everything has been going ... in a positive direction. I’ve been playing better and better as I proceed in the tournament,” Djokovic said.
Murray took over the No. 1 ranking from Djokovic this month at the Paris Masters. But if Djokovic does better than Murray this weekend at the ATP finals, he will jump back ahead and finish the season on top for the third straight season and the fifth time in six years.