Milos Raonic barely moved his arm as he plunked the ball back onto the other side of the net to close out the match. He looked calm, composed, as though winning a five-setter over a much higher-seeded player is just part of his routine.
But this is hardly routine for the 25-year-old Canadian: Prior to Monday night, Raonic had never defeated a top-10 seed in a Grand Slam, and he'd never won a match at Rod Laver Arena. Now he'd beaten No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3. It was Raonic's first victory in five career meetings with Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open champion.
As that final shot dropped, Wawrinka just looked towards the net. He made no effort to disguise that he was as stunned as everyone in the stadium.
After trailing by two sets, Wawrinka battled all the way back to force a deciding fifth set. Momentum was absolutely in the two-time Grand Slam champion's favor. But Raonic held his composure and managed to dominate the fifth set.
Raonic remains undefeated in 2016. In his post-match interview on court, he said that so far the key to his year has been remaining calm in his game. This win makes him the first Canadian player to advance to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam four times. He'll face Gael Monfils in the next round, who will be appearing in his first Australian Open quarterfinal.
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