THE CANADIAN PRESS
TOKYO — Milos Raonic advanced to the last eight of the Japan Open in a matter of moments Thursday after Serbian opponent Viktor Troicki retired from their match with an injury in the first set to hand the Canadian a 3-0 win.
Raonic moved into the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 event after losing in the second round in his first two appearances in 2010 and 2011 — both to Rafael Nadal.
The hard-serving 21-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., will face either third seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia or Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli in the next round.
Former champion Tomas Berdych moved into the Japan Open quarterfinals with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Alejandro Falla of Colombia on Thursday.
Third-seeded Tipsarevic beat Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-2, while Baghdatis ousted fourth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.
Sixth-seeded Raonic went through after his second-round opponent, Viktor Troicki of Serbia, retired while trailing 3-0 due to a right calf injury.
Top seed and defending champion Andy Murray will take on seventh-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in a quarterfinal on Friday, while Tipsarevic will meet Raonic in another.
Berdych broke Falla once in each set without giving away a break chance, and closed their first meeting with his ninth ace at Ariake Colosseum. He notched his 50th win of the season.
The Czech, champion here in 2008, is seeking his second title of the year after winning indoors in Montpellier, France, in February.
"The big difference between today and my first-round match is that I am feeling much better physically," Berdych said.
Late Thursday, eighth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan took on Tommy Robredo of Spain.