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Follow Me on TwitterRob Soria is the Edmonton Oilers' correspondent for OurHometown.ca. Rob was born and raised in Edmonton and is the author of the Edmonton Oilers blog - OilDrop.ca. He has been a dedicated follower of the game and its history for years but his focus remains on his hometown Edmonton Oilers. If you have questions or wish to contact Rob, you can email him at rsoria@ourhometown.ca
Australian Open: Day Four - Raonic moves on, Roddick forced to quit
Rob Soria
OurHometown.ca

Australian Open: Day Four - Raonic moves on, Roddick forced to quit
Day Four featured the first major injury of the event, as Andy Roddick was forced to retire after only three sets in his second round match with Australain Lleyton Hewit. In other second round action, Novak Djokovic continued to look as though he just might be up to the task of repeating his incredible performance during the 2011 season.
PHOTO CREDIT - Zimbio.com

Edmonton - January 19, 2012 - Day Four featured the first major injury of the event, as Andy Roddick was forced to retire after only three sets in his second round match with Australain Lleyton Hewit. In other second round action, Novak Djokovic continued to look as though he just might be up to the task of repeating his incredible performance during the 2011 season. Twenty-one year old Canadian Milos Raonic moved into the third round for the second straight year and Spaniard David Ferrer battled back to win a tough five set battle with American Ryan Sweeting.

The number one player in the world continued to dominate the competition down under, as he made quick work of Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. While the Djokovic first serve was not up to its usual standard, it made little difference in the end. At the moment, it looks as though Novak is sailing along at cruise control and is just waiting for someone to test him. That push could come in the fourth round, from the winner of the upcoming third round match between Milos Raonic and Lleyton Hewitt.

While Raonic continued to roll, the youngster definitely didn't have is "A" game on display against Philipp Petzschner but still managed to pull off the 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory. The Canadian served up his usual pile of aces, with seventeen, but a first serve percentage of 54% won't be good enough moving forward. If he plans on taking out the veteran Aussie, he will need to serve closer to 65% and cut down on his unforced errors.

The former number one player in the world, faced American Andy Roddick in what many were hoping to be the match of the night. Unfortunately, Roddick was forced to withdraw after the third set with an apparent hamstring injury. The American fell awkwardly in the second set but continued on, despite receiving on court treatment. Even with the injury, he kept things close but after dropping the third set and consulting with doctors, he conceded the match to Hewitt. The Australian was leading 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and will now move on to face the young Canadian.

After struggling in his opening round match, fourth seed Andy Murray looked very strong and had little trouble in dismantling Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. In workman like performance, Murray was all business and far too much for the Frenchman to handle. While he struggled with his serve in the first round, that clearly wasn't the case in round two. With his serve clicking at 68% and playing nearly mistake free tennis, only nineteen unforced errors, the twenty-four year old seemed unstoppable. Murray has yet to lose in 2012 and looks to be on course for a quarter-final match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who easily took care of Brazilian Ricardo Mello 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 to move on to the next round.

Third round play gets underway later today with the three biggest names playing at the feature court in the Rod Laver Arena. Rafael Nadal kicks things off against Lukas Lacko and will be followed by Roger Federer taking on Croatian Ivo Karlovic.Aussie Bernard Tomic takes centre stage in the evening draw, when he faces thirteenth seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, in what should be the match of the day.


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