Raonic ousts Murray at Barcelona

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BARCELONA, Spain, April 27 (UPI) -- Milos Raonic claimed a straight-set victory over second-seeded Andy Murray Friday in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open tennis tournament.

Raonic, seeded 11th, had 14 aces and won nearly three-quarters of the points on serve in a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win over Murray.

The win was the first for Raonic over a Top 4 player, and he's one win away from his fourth final this year.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal won more than 60 percent of the points in taking a 6-2, 6-2 victory over fifth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic. He had five breaks over Tipsarevic's eight service games.

Nadal, who has won the Barcelona Open six of the last seven years, draws ninth-seeded Fernando Verdasco in Saturday's semifinals. Verdasco was ahead 4-2 in the first set when No. 8-seeded Kei Nishikori retired with an injury.

No. 3-seeded David Ferrer took a 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 win over seventh-seeded Feliciano Lopez. Ferrer had a break of serve in the third set -- the only break for either player in the match.

Nadal is 12-0 lifetime versus Verdasco. Ferrer is 3-0 against Raonic.