Milos Raonic will take on Rafa Nadal in Brisbane quarter-finals
Canadian to take on Nadal for semi-final spot
Thursday 5 January 2017 17:52, UK
Defending champion and top seed Milos Raonic cruised into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International where he will play Rafa Nadal in a mouthwatering encounter.
Raonic, who beat Roger Federer to win the 2016 Brisbane title, crushed Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-2 to move smoothly through.
Wimbledon finalist Raonic, who beat Roger Federer to win the 2016 Brisbane title, will now take on the hard-hitting Spaniard Nadal after he dismantled Germany's Mischa Zverev 6-1 6-1.
Raonic broke Schwartzman once in the first set and three times in the second to wrap up the match in 69 minutes while Nadal wasted no time in his 55-minute demolition of Zverev to the delight of the packed crowd in Pat Rafter Arena.
The 14-time Grand Slam winner was troubled by illness and injury in 2016 and said he was thrilled to be back on court fully fit.
"After injuries and hard times it's so special to be back on court," he said.
"Tomorrow (against Raonic) it's going to be a very hard match.
"He likes this court and he's had some good results here. I hope to play at my best and If I do I'll have a good chance."
Fourth seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem saw off huge serving Australian Sam Groth 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.
Thiem will play Bulgaria's seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals following his 6-2 6-4 win over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.
Dimitrov broke Mahut twice in the first set and once in the second to make the final eight in Brisbane for the second year in a row.
In the women's event, World No 1 Angelique Kerber suffered her first defeat of the new season against Elina Svitolina 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova was another Brisbane casualty on Thursday, going down 6-3 7-5 to France's Alize Cornet.
French Open champion Garbine Muguruza did reach the last four, though, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5 6-4.
Third seed Karolina Pliskova, meanwhile, was a 3-6 6-2 6-2 winner over Roberta Vinci.
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