Friday 31 October 2014 23:56, UK
There were two reasons for Milos Raonic to be cheerful at the Paris Masters on Friday, as he not only knocked out Roger Federer but also qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals.
The Canadian recorded his first ever win over Federer at the seventh attempt, his impressive 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph booking him a semi-final showdown with Tomas Berdych.
Raonic received a further boost later on Friday, with his place in the eight-man field for the season-ending event in London secured when David Ferrer suffered defeat to Kei Nishikori, who himself is also now secure of a place.
Defeat for second seed Federer, his first in 15 matches, means a major blow in his bid to overtake Novak Djokovic, who knocked out Andy Murray in the evening session, at the top of the world rankings.
Berdych, meanwhile, booked his ticket for the World Tour Finals with a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4 victory against Kevin Anderson in the first match of the day.
The former Wimbledon finalist needed almost three hours to see off the challenge of big-serving Anderson and progress to the last four. The result improves his record in head-to-head meetings between the two to 12-0.
"We've had some very close matches and some five-setters but I think the statistics do not tell the real story," he said.
"It's always tough against Kevin and today we played nearly three hours but I think it was a great match.
"I'm so happy and feel lucky to have made it through so now it's another semi-final and it's been a great tournament for me so far. I hope I can keep it going and keep playing good tennis.”
