Raonic ends lucky loser’s unlikely run
INDIAN WELLS, CALIF. Milos Raonic made sure Miomir Kecmanovic’s good luck finally ran out at the BNP Paribas Open.
The Canadian beat the 19-yearold Serb 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the semifinals and improve to 19-4 at Indian Wells since 2014.
Raonic, the No. 13 seed from Thornhill, Ont., fired 13 aces against no double faults in putting away Kecmanovic in 72 minutes on a sunny, windy and cool day in the Southern California desert.
Kecmanovic was the first lucky loser to reach the quarter-finals at the tournament since it became a Masters 1000 event in 1990. Ranked 130th in the world, the Serb lost in qualifying, but his fortune soon turned.
Three seeded players withdrew before the tournament began, clearing the way for Kecmanovic to become a lucky loser and receive a first-round bye.
The teenager made the most of it. Kecmanovic got by three players, including 30th-seeded Laslo Djere, in straight sets to set up his second meeting with Raonic.
That’s where Kecmanovic’s luck ran out. Raonic won 88 per cent of his first-serve points and saved all three break chances against him.
In January, Raonic beat Kecmanovic in straight sets on his way to the title at Brisbane in January.
Raonic will face the winner of a late evening match between No. 18 seed Gael Monfils of France and No. 7 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria in a semifinal.
The string of upsets continued on the women’s side.
Belinda Bencic beat fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the semis, ensuring her return to the top 20 in the rankings.
Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., advanced to the women’s semis on Wednesday. She’ll face No. 6 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Friday.
In women’s doubles, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski was eliminated in the semifinals Thursday.
The team of Dabrowski and Yifan Xu of China lost 6-2, 7-6 (5) to Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka.