Australian Open: Milos Raonic has weapons primed for Novak Djokovic

Milos Raonic will need to register his first-ever win over Novak Djokovic to progress any further in the Australian Open.

Milos Raonic of Canada serves during his fourth-round match against Marin Cilic at Margaret Court Arena. Picture: AAP

Milos Raonic is serving missiles again in Melbourne, but history suggests he will need an army behind him on Tuesday to complete a mission that has thus far been beyond him.

The former Wimbledon finalist will tackle seven-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in a bid to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne for the second time.

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Not surprisingly, Djokovic poses a problem for the Canadian.

In their nine meetings to date, the 29-year-old is yet to notch a victory against the Serbian, with one of the defeats occurring at the same stage of the Australian Open in 2015.

To try to secure a maiden triumph over the King of Melbourne Park on his favourite court is a significant test. But Raonic has vowed he will do all he can to be the first man to beat Djokovic this decade.

“I’m going to have to serve well, clearly, and then I think I’m going to have to get my return at a high percentage, make him play a lot of those points, and then try to be efficient on my service games,” Raonic said.

“I think we play quite opposite from each other, and he’s done a good job in the past neutralising my serve. So I have really got to focus on my things well and be the one dictating.”

Name a body part and it seemed like the Canadian was feeling pain there at some stage throughout an injury-interrupted 2019 that sent him plummeting down the rankings to his present position of 35.

But Raonic arrived in Australia in good health and demonstrating that the kind of form that has seen him make at least the quarter-finals in four of the past five years in Melbourne has returned.

Raonic is yet to drop a set in his four matches to date, with his latest triumph a 6-4 6-3 7-5 victory over former Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic, who did look bothered by injury on Sunday.

“It would be nice to be able to consistently train, and then that way I don’t have to really train as hard, because my level isn’t falling off because I haven’t been bedridden or sitting on a couch for weeks at a time,” Raonic said.

Novak Djokovic hits a return against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman during their men’s singles match on Sunday. Picture: AFP

In his triumph over last year’s semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round, Raonic was outstanding when rallying, which has not always been the case.

His serve is so good that the right-hander often can rely on that to see his way through matches, needing only to snare a service break or a couple of points on return in a tiebreaker.

Over the past 12 months, only American John Isner can boast better service statistics than the Canadian, which is a credit to Raonic given the injuries that have plagued him.

But he faces a true master on return in Djokovic. The 32-year-old Serbian sits second in this category over the past year behind Rafael Nadal but the margin between the greats is negligible.

When asked to assess the strengths of the two legends in this area, Raonic said there were differences in the way Nadal and Djokovic approached their return and he feels the Serbian places the server under more pressure.

“I think it’s two very different things. I think Rafa puts in as many returns, but you sort of have a chance to swing away at the first one,” he said.

“Novak, his is a little bit more different, because he goes straight through the middle so he takes away the first angle. And he stands close so there is not as much time to sort of organise yourself after.

“They both have made a hell of a career doing well in that end of the court and punishing players when they let up.”