BARCELONA, Spain - Canadian Milos Raonic overcame chilly temperatures to defeat German Simon Greul 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) and advance to the third round of the Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
The 15th seed from Thornhill, Ont. will face 56th-ranked Croatian Ivan Dodig on Thursday after Dodig stunned third-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-4. Raonic, 20, and Dodig, five years his senior, have never played before.
Raonic is seeded at an ATP tournament for the first time in his career and improved his record this year to 20 wins against six losses.
Raonic fired 10 aces in the 2 1/2-hour match. He led 6-2 in the final set tiebreaker but had to hold off a spirited rally from his opponent before securing the victory.
"It was really ugly," said Raonic. "The key was to somehow keep it together.
"I was really lucky in the end. It was getting difficult at the end. I hope I have the chance to recover properly and play better (Thursday). I'm just happy I came through."
