Milos Raonic has advanced to the Australian Open quarter-finals, defeating 2018 finalist Marin Cilic in straight sets.
Canadian No.32 seed Raonic had upset No.6 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round and he continued that impressive form on Sunday with a 6-4 6-3 7-5 win on Margaret Court Arena.
The 29-year-old will play the winner of the fourth-round clash between defending champion Novak Djokovic and 14th-seeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
Cilic, beaten in five sets by Roger Federer in the 2018 Australian Open final, was unable to convert any of his four break points, with Raonic slamming down 35 aces to his five.
The Canadian served himself out of trouble at a pivotal stage of the third set after Cilic had earned two set points.
Raonic boomed down three aces in succession followed by a forehand winner to level at 5-5, before breaking the Croatian’s serve for the third time and serving out the match.
He has reached the quarter-final stage at the season-opening grand slam five times, with his best result a semi-final appearance in 2016 when he lost to Andy Murray in five sets.
It’s a welcome change in fortunes for Raonic, who has been been beset in recent times by injuries.
After reaching the quarter-finals last year at Melbourne Park, a knee injury forced him out of the entire clay court season, including the French Open.
He was unable to play the US Open due to a hamstring issue and was forced out of the Davis Cup final against Spain with a back strain.