Milos Raonic notches first Grand Slam win in Melbourne

Canadian no.1 tops Phau in straight sets, plays Frenchman Llodra in second round 

Milos Raonic (Thornhill, ON) earned his first main draw victory at a Grand Slam on Tuesday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia.

The 20-year-old defeated Germany’s Bjorn Phau 7-6(3), 6-3, 7-6(8) to reach the second round at a Major for the first time in his young career. Raonic’s serve was not broken once in the entire match and Phau never once held a break point oppurtunity as Raonic served 27 aces past his opponent. In the second round on Thursday, the Canadian will take on another big server in Frenchman Michael Llodra. Raonic defeated Llodra in the only previous meeting between the two players during qualifying at the 2009 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Montreal.

Meanwhile, Canada’s second 20-year-old through to round two at the Australian Open, Rebecca Marino will go up against the reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone on Wednesday. The match is scheduled for third on Margaret Court Arena, the third stadium court in Melbourne. Marino is the first Canadian woman to reach the second round Down Under since Vanessa Webb on 2003. 

In doubles, both Daniel Nestor (Toronto, ON) and Marie-Ève Pelletier (Repentigny, QC) will play their opening round matches on Wednesday. Nestor and Max Mirnyi will take on the Australian pair of James Duckworth and Benjamin Mitchell while Pelletier and Sarah Borwell will face off against Sorana Cirstea and Lucie Safarova.