TORONTO: Frenchman Gael Monfils maintained his run of brilliant form when he nullified Milos Raonic’s big serve to eliminate the local favourite from the Toronto Masters on Friday.

Monfils displayed his renowned athleticism in a high-quality quarter-final, relying on his lightning-fast court coverage to manufacture a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the losing Wimbledon finalist.

The 10th seed set up a semi-final against top seed Novak Djokovic, who overcame poor serving and 33 unforced errors to beat Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in an error-riddled match.

Second seed Stan Wawrinka and third seed Kei Nishikori were slated to meet in other semi-final.

Five days after ending a drought of more than two years by winning an ATP event in Washington, Monfils took his hot form with him north of the border.

The capacity evening crowd did their best to lift powerful Canadian Raonic, but Monfils, whose attitude has often been questioned, did not buckle against the fourth seed.

Earlier, Djokovic staved off three set points in a first set tiebreak before improving his career record against Berdych to 25-2.

The Serbian admitted he was lucky to advance after saving seven of eight break points.

In the afternoon session, two-time Grand Slam champion Swiss Wawrinka, who is seeking his 15th ATP World Tour title, advanced with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 victory over big-serving South African Kevin Anderson.

Next up for Wawrinka is Nishikori, who battled past unseeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2016