Milos Raonic will continue his Melbourne campaign against Philipp Kohlschreiber on Saturday. Either Roger Federer or Bernard Tomic awaits the winner.
Milos Raonic and Philipp Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the first time in their careers when they do battle in round three of the Australian Open on Saturday afternoon.
Kohlschreiber, as usual, is off to a stellar start to the season. Auckland and the Australian Open have always been two of his best events. The 19th-ranked German finished runner-up to David Ferrer in Auckland and he is bidding for his fourth career round-four appearance in Melbourne. So far this week Kohlschreiber has taken out Steve Darcis and Amir Weintraub without dropping a set or even losing serve.
Raonic lost his season-opener to Grigor Dimitrov in Brisbane and he donated the first set of his Melbourne campaign to Jan Hajek. Nonetheless, the 15th-ranked Canadian has won six consecutive sets to overcome Hajek and oust Lukas Rosol.
“I was able to incorporate more intensity into may game, get into better positions and hit better shots,” Raonic said after his win over the Czech. “I created more opportunities. My game is getting better. I played much better than in the first round.”
The No. 13 seed must raise his level even further against an opponent of Kohlschreiber’s caliber. Raonic will have a good chance if he can put in a ton of first serves and keep baseline rallies to minimum, but that is easier said than done.
An ever-so-slight edge both in current form and court surface goes to Kohlschreiber.
Pick: Kohlschreiber 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(4)
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I thought Kohli was taking this one down but looks like Raonic is finding form. Didn’t see much of it so not sure how either guy played but for Kohli not to get at least a set is a surprise.