Milos Raonic served 14 aces on his way to beating second seed Andy Murray 6-4 7-6 on Friday for a spot in the Barcelona Open semi-finals.
Raonic, who trains at the Real Club de Tenis, used his strong forehand to control from the start, breaking the fourth-ranked Murray to lead 4-3.
He then set up a set point with an ace before smacking a forehand down the line to take the first set.
Murray managed only four points on Raonic’s serve in the first set and continued to struggle on the return in the second.
But Murray broke Raonic when the Canadian served for the match before losing in the tiebreaker.
“It’s very, very difficult and a big plus in confidence for me,” Raonic said. “Clay’s not his best surface, but he consistently does well on it.
Last year he reached the semifinals at the French Open, Monte Carlo and Rome, so he can play really well on it. For me, it was a big win, regardless of the surface.”
Raonic is one win away from his fourth final of the season. He will next face David Ferrer, who saved three match points while rallying to beat Feliciano Lopez 6-7 7-6 6-3.
After saving a pair of match points, Ferrer battled back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set tiebreaker, aided by Lopez returning his third match point long.
“It was a very tough match where both players had good chances. I knew if I fought I could win,” Ferrer said after reaching the semi-finals in Barcelona for the sixth time. “It was our best game on clay. Feli made it very difficult for me.”
Six-time champion Rafael Nadal will play Janko Tipsarevic later on Friday, while Fernando Verdasco will face Kei Nishikori in the other quarter-final match.