Raonic stuns Nadal to reach semifinal
22 March 2015 1:07 AM GMT
Sixth seeded Canadian Milos Raonic blasted 19 aces and hammered a series of thunderous forehands to upset world no. 3 Rafael Nadal and reach the semifinals of the Indian Wells ATP Masters.
Raonic saved three match points en route to earning his hard-fought 4-6, 7-6 (12/10), 7-5 win in a three-hour marathon on the Tennis Garden stadium court. Raonic gained his first win over Nadal in their sixth meeting. The 24-year-old’s shocking win spoiled what could have been a semi-final lineup that featured each of the top four seeds as world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and fourth seed Andy Murray had already punched their tickets.
Raonic said it felt good to play the role of spoiler. “You just want to prove people wrong in that sense. It has some good feel to it,” Raonic said. Friday’s matchup was a classic contrast in style with the hard-serving Raonic going up against the swashbuckling left-handed Spaniard who runs down every ball and can turn defence into offence. But Nadal’s defence wasn’t good enough Friday as Raonic blasted 48 winners and broke Nadal once in the crucial 11th game of the third set, setting the table for himself to serve for the match.
Raonic saved three match points en route to earning his hard-fought 4-6, 7-6 (12/10), 7-5 win in a three-hour marathon on the Tennis Garden stadium court. Raonic gained his first win over Nadal in their sixth meeting. The 24-year-old’s shocking win spoiled what could have been a semi-final lineup that featured each of the top four seeds as world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and fourth seed Andy Murray had already punched their tickets.
Raonic said it felt good to play the role of spoiler. “You just want to prove people wrong in that sense. It has some good feel to it,” Raonic said. Friday’s matchup was a classic contrast in style with the hard-serving Raonic going up against the swashbuckling left-handed Spaniard who runs down every ball and can turn defence into offence. But Nadal’s defence wasn’t good enough Friday as Raonic blasted 48 winners and broke Nadal once in the crucial 11th game of the third set, setting the table for himself to serve for the match.
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