Indian Wells Masters 2019: Milos Raonic falls to Dominic Thiem in semifinal

Rudi Schuller

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Indian Wells Masters 2019: Milos Raonic falls to Dominic Thiem in semifinal image

Milos Raonic is out of the 2019 BNP Paribas Open after falling 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-4, to Austria's Dominic Thiem at Indian Wells, Calif., on Saturday.

Raonic hit 17 aces and only had his serve broken once, but it was enough for the Canadian to suffer defeat in the semifinal to a scintillating Thiem.

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Both men relied heavily on their serves in the first set, with Thiem holding a narrow advantage (28-27) in service points won. The Austrian found more success on his return, winning 12 return points in the opening set to Raonic's three.

What the Canadian struggled most with in the first set was double faults, as he committed three while also hitting five aces. His final double fault of the opening frame was the costliest, coming early in the tiebreak and giving Thiem a lead he didn't relinquish. 

Raonic cleaned things up in the second set, committing no double faults and smashing 10 aces. He also improved on the return, winning twice as many (12-6) as Thiem in the middle frame.

Still, Thiem's play was stellar and pushed the Canadian to another tiebreak, although this time Raonic was the one who would come out on top.

It was more of the same to start the deciding set, with neither man giving an inch on the serve. The turning point came at 2-2, when Thiem was finally able to break Raonic's serve in a marathon game to shift the momentum. Combined with superb shot selection, Thiem was nearly flawless the rest of the way as he outpaced Raonic to win the match.

Saturday's match was the first win for Thiem over Raonic. The Austrian advances to the final where he'll face Roger Federer.

Rudi Schuller