Defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada advanced to the semifinals of the $531,000 ATP San Jose Open Friday as second-seed and three-time champ Andy Roddick fell. Raonic fired 16 aces and never faced a break point as he defeated South African sixth seed Kevin Anderson 7-5, 7-6 (7-3). “Obviously, my job was to take care of my serve. That's the most important thing,” Raonic, who had 16 aces in the match, told reporters. “If you fall behind, it's easy for him to close out the set. It's a straining match, but at the same time you just have to be patient. “I've really tried to treat it as much as I can like another tournament,” continued Raonic. “Obviously, coming somewhere where you are defending, there are a few more media obligations. But outside of that, you don't really notice any difference from any other event unless you want to make it that way. I've tried to clear my mind about it and treated every match as if it's another match.” The Canadian booked a Saturday clash against American Ryan Harrison, who earlier ousted Bulgarian Dimitar Kutrovsky 6-1, 6-4 at the indoor hardcourt tournament. Raonic claimed the first set with his eighth ace of the match, one fewer than Anderson blasted in the opening set, and won six of the first seven points in the tie-breaker on his way to winning in one hour, 42 minutes. Unseeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan needed 1hr 16min to oust Roddick 6-2, 6-4. Istomin saved the only break point he faced in the match and broke Roddick three times. In the semifinals Istomin will face French fifth seed Julien Benneteau, who rallied to beat Belgian Steve Darcis 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Hampered by an ankle injury suffered on Wednesday, Roddick, ranked 17th in the world, was second best against his 61st ranked opponent and fell to defeat inside 76 minutes on the indoor hard court. “He played better than I did in every aspect. He played well,” Roddick told reporters. “I was hoping to be able to serve my way into it. That didn't work. From there, it was tough.” Nineteen year-old American Ryan Harrison defeated Bulgarian qualifier Dimitar Kutrovsky 6-1 6-4 and will face Raonic for a place in the final.
