Playing in the first men's singles quarter-final, Milos Raonic only took 72 minutes to defeat "dark horse" Miomir Kecmanovic with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
The "ball machine" suppressed the 19-year-old Serbian tennis player with familiar thunderstorms. Raonic won 88% of the first serve points (30/34) and made 13 ace shots to enter the semi-finals.
This is the fourth time the Canadian has reached the Indian Wells semi-finals. Raonic is hoping to continue writing his dream of winning the first Masters championship in his career. The opponent of the No. 14 seed in the next round will be Dominic Thiem, who had previously won easily when Gael Monfils announced that they had given up due to injury.
Monfils said he had to suppress the pain to overcome Kohlschreiber in round 4. However, the deterioration of injuries has forced the French player to withdraw. The "replacement" of the French team has a record of 15 wins - 3 losses in 2019. Monfils could not hide their disappointment when having to say goodbye to the tournament in between, while leaving open the possibility of competing in the upcoming Miami Masters.
As for Dominic Thiem, the 25-year-old Austrian expressed regret for Monfils instead of celebrating his first time entering the Masters semi-finals.
"I have mentally prepared for a great match. Monfils are playing very well this year, I feel sorry for him.
The semi-final match between Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic took place in the early morning of March 17, Vietnam time. Raonic has won all 2 previous meetings.
Tomorrow, the identities of the last two semi-finalists will be determined after the two pairs Hubert Hurkacz - Roger Federer and Karen Khachanov - Rafael Nadal.
