Sam Querrey upsets Milos Raonic to move to the quarter-finals – BNP Paribas Masters 2012
American number two, Sam Querrey, continued his giant-killing run, as he stunned the 14th seed, Milos Raonic of Canada, in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(1) to reach the last-eight stage at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
Querrey had surprised the second seed and to be the world number one, Novak Djokovic, in the second round one day earlier. The American will be bidding to qualify for the semi-finals of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the first time in his career.
In the first set, both players held their serve in the first seven games to take the score to 4-3 in favour of Querrey. The American contestant hit a blow to his higher ranked opponent in the eighth and consolidated on it to triumph 6-3.
Second set was far more competitive than the opener, as Querrey and Raonic did not allow each other to claim a breakthrough and took the score to 6-6, forcing a tie-breaker. The American player raced to a 4-0 lead at the start and dropped only one point even after that, clinching it 7-6(1).
Raonic was very disappointed because of this surprise loss. After reaching the title match of the Japan Open last month, the Canadian star lost in the first round of two back to back events. The 21-year-old had a good chance to claim his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title here in the absence of the top four players in the world.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Raonic said, "I didn't create enough chances, didn't do enough with my shots. I'm sick at the moment, I don't have fever but I'm struggling with sinuses."
He added, "After the final in Tokyo, I was optimistic, but then i struggled with my game a bit. It was a long year with a lot of stress and I didn't handle it all as well as I could have. This was my first full season and I needed to deal with it all a bit better. On court today I was half a step slow, and didn't play the way that I wanted."
Querrey will meet the French wild card entrant, Michael Llodra, in the quarter-finals.
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