MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -- Canada's Milos Raonic is off to the round of 16 at the Australian Open after notching a major upset on Friday.
The No. 32 seed from Thornhill, Ont., beat No. 6 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 in a third-round match at the season's first Grand Slam.
Raonic, 29, has been plagued by injuries in recent years, missing large portions of the second half of last season with a back issue. Prior to his victories this week, Raonic hadn't won a match since October.
A career-best world No. 3 in 2016, Raonic has slipped to 35th while battling injuries and inconsistent results.
Tsitsipas, 21, is considered one of the rising stars of the game, but has struggled at recent Grand Slams. He lost in the first round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year before his third-round exit this week.
Tsitsipas' best showing at a Grand Slam was a semifinal appearance at last year's Australian Open.
Raonic, who hadn't faced Tsitsipas before Friday, has played some of his best tennis of his career at the Melbourne major.
This marks the fifth time in the past six years Raonic has advanced to at least the fourth round. He has three quarterfinal appearances and one semifinal showing since 2015.
Raonic is the only Canadian remaining in the singles draw after Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Vasek Pospisil and Leylah Annie Fernandez all lost in the first round.
Raonic will next play Marin Cilic of Croatia, who upset No.9 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in a tight five-set match.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2020.
