Andy Murray, who has played some quality tennis in the 2016 Australian Open so far, is set to face Milos Raonic in the semifinal of the competition at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday. The winner of the clash is set to face in-form Novak Djokovic, who defeated Roger Federer in the last four, for the title decider on Sunday.
Second seed Murray has defeated some top players such as Bernard Tomic and David Ferrer to reach the semifinals. His quarterfinal win over Ferrer had class written all over it; he won the match in four sets with the score reading 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 and 6-3.
Murray, who has been one of the best players in the modern era, has not won the Australian Open in his career and has finished runners-up in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015. The second seed should not be thinking too much ahead, as Raonic, who will prove to be his biggest test so far in the competition, might prove to be a major obstacle on Friday.
However Murray is aware of the tough task as he prepares to face the 13th seed Canadian, who has been in an incredible form, defeating top players like Federer in the run-up to the Australian Open. Raonic defeated Federer in the finals of the Brisbane International.
If the Canadian can play similar level of tennis, one can expect a quality game in the semifinals against Murray, who is also aware of the Raonic's achievements of late.
"It's been a very good start to the year (for Raonic). We're only a couple of tournaments in and it's a long, long year. He was unfortunate last year with some injuries. Had a few physical issues. I played him in Madrid and he was struggling a little bit there," Australian Open official website quoted Murray as saying.
"Then I think he had the surgery on his foot and missed the French and maybe Wimbledon as well. He's obviously fit and healthy now and playing well."
Raonic has been in top form in the ongoing Australian Open where he defeated fourth seed Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round of the competition. The 13th seed defeated the Swiss in a gruelling five set contest where Raonic showed a lot of character to oust Wawrinka.
Even during the quarterfinals against Gael Monfils, his performance deserved a semifinal place.
"I was dictating I felt most of the time. I was hitting my shots well. I was quite efficient off the baseline. When I had the chance, I came forward. Closed shots off there," Australian Open official website quoted Raonic as saying.
The semifinal matchup between Murray and Raonic could prove to be an entertaining affair with both players possessing dangerous groundstrokes.
Where to watch live
Australian Open 2016 semifinal match -- Andy Murray vs Milos Raonic -- is scheduled for 7:30 pm local time (2pm am IST, 12 am GMT, 7 pm ET) start. The live coverage of the Australian Open will be on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD in India, with the online live streaming option on Sonyliv.
Andy Murray vs Milos Raonic semifinal can be viewed live in the UK and Ireland on BBC, with live streaming on BBCiPlayer.
Eurosport and Eurosport Player will show the Andy Murray vs Milos Raonic semifinal in the rest of Europe. Channel 7 will broadcast the Australian Open live in Australia.
US viewerscan watch Australian Open live on ESPN with live streaming options on Watch ESPN.
Fox Sports will show the Australia Open matches live in South East Asia as well as South Korea.
