Milos Raonic knocks off Mikhail Youzhny at the Australian Open

20-year-old becomes first Canadian man in 12 years to reach the Round of 16 at a Major

Milos Raonic (Thornhill, ON) continued his remarkable run at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday, becoming the first Canadian man in 12 years to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

Two days after defeating world no. 24 Michael Llodra in the second round, the 20-year-old Canadian went one better, knocking off World No. 10 and reigning U.S. Open semifinalist, Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to score his first win over a Top 10 player. Raonic becomes the first Canadian man since Daniel Nestor in 1999 to advance to the Round of 16 at a Major. On the women’s side, Aleksandra Wozniak (Blainville, QC) reached the fourth round at Roland-Garros in 2009.

Raonic was the aggressor throughout the match, serving 31 aces and hitting 54 winners. He broke Youzhny’s serve for the sixth time in the last game to clinch the biggest victory of his career. With the win, Raonic will move into the Top 100 on the world rankings for the first time at no. 97. 

In the Round of 16 on Sunday, Raonic will face another stiff test when he goes up against World No. 7 David Ferrer of Spain who is also a former Grand Slam semifinalist.