Milos Raonic of Canada returns a shot to Santiago Giraldo of Colombia during a first round men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
June 27, 2012 - 9:26 AM
WIMBELTON, England - Canadian Milos Raonic advanced to the second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday, completing a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Colombian Santiago Giraldo that had been interrupted the night before by rain and darkness.
The 21st-ranked player from Thornhill, Ont., needed just minutes to wrap up the win and move on to a meeting with Sam Querrey.
The 64th-ranked American spoiled a potential all-Canadian showdown when he beat Vancouver's Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 Tuesday night before rain interrupted play.
Raonic was playing at the All England Club for the first time since slipping in his second-round match a year ago against Gilles Muller. The hip injury required surgery and sidelined him until November.
The Canadian fired 20 aces in just over 90 minutes, breaking three times while never losing serve. He recorded 44 winners and just eight unforced errors.
Raonic, winner of two titles this season, lost his only other match to Giraldo two years ago in Davis Cup play on clay.
He joins Aleksandra Wozniak as the only Canadians left in Wimbledon singles after the first round.
Wozniak, ranked 56th, opened with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Russian Vera Dushevina. She plays her third-round match Thursday against China's Zheng Jie in a repeat of a French Open match last month won by the Canadian.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012