Milos Raonic of Canada returns the ball against Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic during their first round match of the Japan Open tennis championships in Tokyo, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Koji Sasahara
October 02, 2012 - 12:12 AM
TOKYO - Milos Raonic won his opening match at the Japan Open by defeating Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The sixth-seed from Thornhill, Ont., wrapped up his 83-minute victory with a 10th ace to advance after playing last week in Bangkok and reaching the quarter-finals. He next plays Serb Viktor Troicki.
Raonic is playing at the ATP venue where he made his move onto the world stage in 2010. He has faced Rafael Nadal at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo in both of his previous appearances.
The Canadian now owns three match wins in Tokyo after his pair of second-round defeats against Nadal in 2010 and 2011.
Raonic was never threatened by Stepanek, breaking the 2010 Tokyo semifinalist to start the match, and needing three set points to close out the opener in 43 minutes.
In the second set, Raonic got on top 3-2 from his opponent's forehand error, then finished the morning encounter with an untouchable serve.
He now owns a perfect 3-0 record over Stepanek after defeating the Czech twice in 2011.
Raonic — the youngest player in the ATP top 20 at age 21 — won his 40th match of the season. He comes into the tournament ranked 14th in the world.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012