Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka both made the last eight of last year’s Australian Open. Unfortunately, the journey will come to an end a round earlier for one of those two as they face off in the fourth round in this year’s tournament. This matchup will be a battle of the two hardest-serving players on tour, but who will have the edge in the other parts of the game to come out on top?
Read on for our complete preview of this Australian Open Round of 16 clash. And for more fourth round fun, check out our preview of Andy Murray vs. Bernard Tomic here.
After laboring to a nearly three-hour straight-sets victory over Tommy Robredo in the second round, Milos Raonic had a much easier time taking out Viktor Troicki in their third round matchup. The No. 14 seed needed just an hour and 45 minutes to record a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 victory to reach the Australian Open Round of 16 for the fourth time in six tries.
[sc:AUS15-250 ]One of the keys to Raonic’s victory was his success in cutting down on his unforced errors. After committing a whopping 59 miscues against Robredo, the Canadian committed just 23 Troicki. Raonic also took advantage of his opportunities to break his opponent’s serve. He went 5-of-12 against Troicki after going just 1-of-12 against Robredo.
Despite getting broken for the first time in the tournament by Troicki, Raonic’s big serve has been huge for him once again in Melbourne. Raonic has fired in 50 aces, is putting over 60 percent of his first serves in play, and has won 83 percent or more of his first serve points through his first three matches.
Stan Wawrinka is once again playing some of his best tennis in Melbourne. The 2014 Aussie Open champion breezed through to the fourth round after beating Lukas Rosol in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Wawrinka showed off his terrific service game by launching 18 aces and winning 80 percent of his first serve points against Rosol. He also fired home 45 winners and limited his unforced errors to 23 for the second consecutive match.
Wawrinka is one of the few players on tour that can challenge Raonic’s service game, but the Swiss’ serve has not exactly been locked in thus far. He’s failed to put 60 percent of his first serves in play in, and has also been broken in back-to-back matches.
However, the Swiss has the more consistent and well-rounded game compared to the more erratic play of the younger Raonic. That’s a big reason why Wawrinka is still a perfect 4-0 against Raonic in their all-time meetings, with three of those four wins coming on hard court.
Writer’s Prediction
Wawrinka (-130) earns another win over Raonic to advance to the quarters.
