Raonic advances, Roddick falls in San Jose

SAN JOSE: Defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada advanced to the semi-finals of the $531,000 ATP San Jose Open on Friday as second-seed and three-time champ Andy Roddick fell.

Raonic, the third seed, fired 16 aces and never faced a break point as he defeated South African sixth seed Kevin Anderson 7-5, 7-6 (7/3).

"Obviously, my job was to take care of my serve. That's the most important thing," Raonic said. "If you fall behind, it's easy for him to close out the set."

The Canadian booked a Saturday clash against American Ryan Harrison, who earlier ousted Bulgarian Dimitar Kutrovsky 6-1, 6-4 at the indoor hardcourt tournament.

Raonic claimed the first set with his eighth ace of the match, one fewer than Anderson blasted in the opening set, and won six of the first seven points in the tie-breaker on his way to winning in one hour, 42 minutes.

Unseeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan needed 1hr 16min to oust Roddick 6-2, 6-4.

Istomin saved the only break point he faced in the match and broke Roddick three times.
In the semi-finals Istomin will face French fifth seed Julien Benneteau, who rallied to beat Belgian Steve Darcis 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. (AFP)