Tennis: Raonic and Nishikori cut down Murray and Baghdatis at Japan Open
News On Japan via thesportreview.com -- Oct 06

Two of the rising stars of the men's tour, 21-year-old Milos Raonic and 22-year-old Kei Nishikori continued their David and Goliath antics in Tokyo to set up an intriguing final at the Japan Open in Tokyo.

Following home hero Nishikori's dispatch of the No2 seed Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals, Raonic put out the top seed, Andy Murray, in the semis.

Although Canadian Raonic is far from David-like in proportions-his 6ft 5in frame and huge-serving game make him a giant of a challenge-he stood toe-to-toe with the US Open and Olympic gold medal winner, and it was Murray who had won their last encounter, in New York in straight sets.

But on this occasion, Raonic showed just why he has been tipped for great things since he burst into the top 100 last year. Despite hip surgery 15 months ago, he continued his impressive rise in 2012, via two titles, to No15 and a win here would keep alive his hopes of qualifying for the World Tour Finals.




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