SAN JOSE, Calif. - Milos Raonic is one step closer to defending his SAP Open title.
The 21-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., advanced to the semifinals with a 7-5, 7-6 (3) win over South Africa's Kevin Anderson on Friday.
The match featured two heavy hitters. Raonic had 16 aces in the match, while Anderson had 14.
Down 5-4 in the first set, Raonic drew level by winning the 10th game with a 207 km/h ace.
He broke Anderson in the next game when Anderson hit the net to end a 13-shot rally for game point. One game later, Raonic took the set with a 220 km/h ace.
Both players held serve throughout the second set, which needed a tiebreaker to decide. Raonic raced out to an early 6-1 lead, then finished off the tiebreaker with a 196 km/h serve that Anderson couldn't return.
Raonic will face Ryan Harrison of the United States in Saturday's semifinal. Harrison, looking for his first win on the ATP Tour advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Bulgaria's Dimitar Kutrovsky.
On the other side of the draw, Andy Roddick was scheduled to face Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan on Friday night. And Julien Benneteau of France was matched against Belgium's Steve Darcis.
