03 August 2017,

Milos Raonic will play Marcos Baghdatis in the third round of the Citi Open in Washington after defeating Nicolas Mahut 7-6 7-6.

The third seed admits there is plenty of room for improvement in his game but was pleased to return to winning ways.

The Canadian said: “There are a lot of things I need to be happy with.

“I lost a bit of sharpness and discipline in the second set, but I’m glad I was able to get through and keep going in this tournament. It’s good to be back, especially with that memory of having won here [in 2014].”

Meanwhile, Baghdatis beat the 16th seed Ryan Harrison 6-4 6-1 and Tommy Paul recorded a fine 7-6 6-3 victory against Lucas Pouille.

The 20-year-old American was thrilled afterwards, saying: “I just feel really good and have been working really hard. It’s paying off right now, so hopefully I can keep it going.”

Paul added: “I was struggling a lot last year, but my coach and everyone on my team was just telling me to keep working harder and it will come. I’ve just been trying to trust in the process and have been working harder every day.”

He will play Gilles Muller, who thrashed Dmitry Tursunov 6-1, 6-2, in the next round.

Raonic is 1/8 to beat Baghdatis while Muller is 1/5 to come out on top against Paul.