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 Wimbledon semi-finalist Raonic took a while to get going but was
unstoppable once he found top gear, pounding down 16 aces to beat
the unseeded Johnson 7-6(2) 6-2.
The Canadian will meet another unseeded American, Donald Young, in a
Saturday semi-final after Young upset seventh-seeded South African
Kevin Anderson 3-6 7-6(3) 6-2.
The other semi-final on the hardcourt at the William H.G. Fitzgerald
Tennis Center will pit sixth seed Richard Gasquet of France against
either Colombia's Santiago Giraldo or Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
Giraldo and Pospisil had completed just two points in their decisive
third set on Friday before the match was suspended because of rain.
They are scheduled to resume on Saturday before the winner takes on
Gasquet later in the day.
Gasquet had the easiest quarter-final match on Friday, waltzing past
Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-4 in less than an hour.
 Nishikori, the fourth seed, appeared hampered by an ankle injury
that restricted his mobility as the Frenchman rode a strong backhand
to improve his career head-to-head record to 5-0.
"I saw he had a little problem," Gasquet told ESPN.
STERNER TEST
Raonic had a much sterner test against Johnson, who beat two other
big men, American John Isner and Croat Ivo Karlovic, to reach the
last eight.
Up against another powerful server, Johnson looked the more
impressive in the first set, holding serve with ease.
But neither player could prise out so much as a break point and once
Raonic won the tiebreak 7-2, he dominated the second set, twice
breaking Johnson to close the match out in just under 80 minutes.
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"It's tough after a few weeks off but I'm happy with the way things are
going," said Raonic, who got within one match of the Wimbledon final
before losing to Roger Federer.
"My attitude and mentality have been getting me through a lot of
important stages."
Left-hander Young battled for over two hours before outlasting Anderson
in a match in which the second set tiebreak proved crucial.
Both players broke serve twice, and Young did it at the right times to
move within sight of what would be just his second ATP World Tour final.
In the women's semi-finals, second seed Ekaterina Makarova will meet
sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in an all-Russian encounter while New
Zealand's Marina Erakovic will face Japan's Kurumi Nara.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina)
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