He’s the highest ranked player left in the men’s Australian Open field but third seed Milos Raonis says his first grand slam title is far from a done deal.
With the departure of defending champion Novak Djokovic and world No.1 Andy Murray, Canadian Raonic has a golden chance to crack his first crown.
He advanced to the quarter-finals with a rollercoaster win over Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-4 6-1.
Raonis clawed his way back from 5-1 in the tie-breaker, and then saved three break-points at 4-4 in the third set which proved key.
“Most of the match, it was quite inconsistent I think from both of us,” Raonic said.
“After I held off those two break-points, I was able to reel off seven games or something along those lines.
“I was fortunate to get that point because it definitely could have been much longer.”
A semi-finalist at Melbourne Park this year, Raonic has been battling the flu over the past week and said while he had more energy, he still wasn’t at 100 per cent.
He said he wasn’t thinking too far ahead, with players like former champions Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka still lurking.
“I have some very difficult tasks ahead of me,” he said.
“I had today was a very difficult one.
“Next one, whoever it’s going to be, is going to be a very difficult one so I’m pretty intent on staying in that moment.”