ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Second-seed Milos Raonic advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Tennis Tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win over Italy’s Simone Bolelli on Thursday.
The hard-server from Thronhill, Ont., fired 17 aces past Bolelli and never faced a break point.
Raonic will play Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Earlier, top-seeded Andy Murray advanced to the quarter-finals ofwith a 6-3, 7-5 win over Vanocuver’s Vasek Pospisil.
The Australian Open runner-up, who faces eighth-seeded Gilles Simon of France in the next round, fought back from a break of serve in the second set and won the last four games.
"I moved well, and I felt like when I really needed to, I was able to improve my level and step my game up a bit," Murray said. "I found a little bit of extra intensity in the important moments."
None more so than when Pospisil served for the second set at 5-4.
"He was in a great position. But we had a 30-shot rally on set point. It was a very physical rally, I was making him do more of the running," said Murray, the 2009 Rotterdam champ. "It took quite a lot out of him."
ATTENTION Rogers and Shaw customers.
Already enjoying Sportsnet ONE? Now get access to digital editions of Sportsnet magazine at no extra cost.
Simon, who beat countryman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-3, trails Murray 12-1 in career head-to-heads.
Defending champion Tomas Berdych also progressed, hitting 10 aces in a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Andreas Seppi. The third-seeded Czech will take on Gael Monfils for a spot in the semifinals.
"(Seppi) was not easy at all. I had my game plan, which worked perfectly from the beginning," Berdych said. "He just started to play much better and took his chance, the only one he had in the second set. But in the third set, I was able to get my chances and execute."
Also, No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, the 2013 Australian Open champion, laboured to a 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 win against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.