Nadal defeats Raonic to roar into Australian Open semis

Melbourne [Australia], Jan. 25 (ANI): 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal defeated Canada's Milos Raonic in an emphatic last eight contest to book a place into the semi-finals of the Australian Open here on Wednesday. The Spaniard, who lost to Raonic just two weeks ago in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane, defeated the Canadian 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-4 to advance to the semifinals. Raonic, who has enjoyed a great success against the Spaniard in the last one year, looked uncomfortable, winning just 27 of his 52 trips forward in the game. In the last-four contest, he'll face Grigor Dimitrov, who is riding a 10-match unbeaten run after winning the Brisbane title. "Grigor is a great player. Everybody thought he was gonna be a very top, top player before today, and finally he started the season unbelievable," Nadal said after the match. "He's playing so, so good. He's very confident, he's playing very well, and I'm going to have a very tough match. I know I'm going to have to play my best tennis if I'm going to have a chance," he added. In the other semifinal, 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will take on Stan Wawrinka in a Swiss derby tomorrow. (ANI)