PARIS (AP) – Milos Raonic perfectly timed his maiden win over Roger Federer.
The seventh-seeded Raonic, who had never beaten the 17-Grand Slam champion in six previous meetings, hit 21 aces and lost only 15 points on his serve to complete a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win to reach the semi-finals of the Paris Masters today.
It was a must-win match for the big-serving Canadian, who kept alive his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals. He will be guaranteed a birth in London if he wins the title in Paris or David Ferrer loses to Kei Nishikori.
“Considering all the circumstances around it, I think this was the biggest win for me,” said the 23-year-old Raonic.
The Wimbledon semi-finalist brutally ended Federer’s 14-match winning streak, but the Swiss has still a chance to overtake the top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the race for the year-end No. 1 spot.
Federer, who arrived in Paris on the back of consecutive titles in Shanghai and Basel, only had a few openings against Raonic. He created his sole break point in the tenth game of the second set but the Canadian saved it with an ace.
Earlier, Tomas Berdych sealed his spot at the finals – where he will be playing for the fifth straight year – after rallying to beat Kevin Anderson.
The fifth-seeded Czech came out on top of a tight match and won 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 to extend his unbeaten record against the South African to 12-0.
