PARIS -- You can excuse Canada's Milos Raonic for keeping his emotions in check Friday after arguably the biggest win of his tennis career.
The young Canadian finally broke through against one of the so-called Big Three of men's tennis, knocking off second-ranked Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 7-5 in quarter-final play at the Paris Masters on Friday.
Raonic pumped his fist after the final point but otherwise kept his excitement level to a minimum. The victory over the Swiss star was a great accomplishment, but Raonic wants to keep focused on the big picture of succeeding in Paris and perhaps qualifying for the ATP Finals.
"It would have to be up there definitely at this stage of my career," Raonic said when asked if it was his biggest victory. "It's all very good, but knowing everything that's on the line this week, there is some humility (to the win).
"There is a lot more -- I've got to keep going and finding a way to win."
It was the first win in 15 career tries for Raonic against either Federer (now 1-6), top-ranked Novak Djokovic (0-3) or third-ranked Rafael Nadal (0-5).
Raonic will next face Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who qualified for the season-ending event in London with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 win over South African Kevin Anderson.
Raonic finished with 21 aces, 45 winners and 21 unforced errors. It was the first time he had taken a set off Federer since 2012 in Halle, Germany.
Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, defeated Raonic in the semifinals at Cincinnati and Wimbledon earlier this season. Raonic has a 2-1 career record against Berdych, but the Czech knocked him out a year ago in Paris in the third round.
Raonic's confidence has been building since he recovered from a virus earlier this month. He feels his game is starting to click again.
"I'm very motivated, I've been trying to find this level and fortunately I've been able to do so this week," he said. "I've definitely struggled the last few weeks. If it wasn't me having the kind of motivation to need and to want to do well here, I don't think I'd have found the answers that I have this week."
Raonic will qualify for the season-ending Nov. 9-16 tournament if he goes one round deeper than David Ferrer of Spain. Ferrer was scheduled to play Kei Nishikori of Japan in the late quarter-final.
If Nishikori wins, he and Raonic will claim the last two spots in the eight-man field.
Raonic has never qualified for the ATP Finals. He was an alternate last year.
