Nadal And Raonic Face Off In Indian Wells Quarter-Final

Rafael Nadal is a three-time Indian Wells winner but will have to get past Milos Raonic tomorrow should he progress into the semi-final of the 2015 renewal. The Spaniard last picked up the Paribas Open trophy back in 2013, he being knocked out in the third round last year when the number one seed. Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov dispatched the now world number three 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 before exiting himself at the semi-final stage.

By reaching this round of the competition, Raonic has already equalled his best ever finish, the Montenegro-born star exited the tournament at this stage last year. In a twist of fate, the Canadian representative faced Dolgopolov following the Ukrainian`s victory over Nadal, failing to get the better of him when losing in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.

This will be the sixth time the two men have met on court in ATP tournaments with Raonic having failed to win in any of their last five encounters. Four of these ties, all occurring between the years of 2010 and 2014, were on hard court surfaces with the last coming in the Miami Masters of last year.

Indeed, this quarter-final match stands out as it was the first time that the 24-year-old had ever managed to pick up a set against Nadal. He took the opener, 4-6 before only managing to win two games in the second and losing the third by six games to four. Nadal would eventually end this tournament as runner-up, losing out to Novak Djokovic in straight sets (6-3, 6-3).

As a result of the Manacor-born star`s dominance in their previous meetings, the best odds on the match being played out over three sets is 31/20 with betway. Nadal can be backed at a price of 10/3 with Ladbokes to finish his opponent off by two sets to one whilst 11/2 with sportingbet says that the third seed can lose the first set but win the entire match and qualify for the next round.

Raonic will be up against it against Nadal who has already grabbed his first title of the year by winning the Buenos Aires Open. The 28-year-old beat Juan Monaco in the final 6-4, 6-1, having not lost a set in the whole competition. This success followed a lacklustre first Grand Slam of the year, being seen off by Tomas Berdych in the quarter-final stage in straight sets (6-2, 6-0, 7-6).

Nadal has been similarly prolific so far in the Indian Wells Masters, again having not dropped a set. Igor Sijsling was dispatched in the second round by a score of 6-4, 6-2 before his third round opponent Donald Young was defeated by exactly the same scoreline. In the fourth round the 6`1" player saw off Gilles Simon by 6-2, 6-4. Nadal earned all these victories by a winning margin of six games. paddy Power are currently offering odds of 7/1 on him knocking out Raonic by a margin of exactly six games.

Monaco resident Raonic is yet to scoop his first title of the year though the 10-time ATP tournament winner did reach the final of the Brisbane Open, losing out to Roger Federer 4-6, 7-6, 4-6. The world number six also reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open before running into eventual winner Novak Djokovic (6-7, 4-6, 2-6). Two tie-breaks also stood between himself and the final of the Rotterdam Open, he losing to Stan Wawrinka.

In this competition, Raonic saw off Simone Bolelli in straight sets (6-3, 6-4), the fashion in which he also beat his old friend Dolgopolov (7-6, 6-4) and Tommy Robredo (6-3, 6-2). boylesports` and ladbrokes` 4/1 says the Canadian can beat Nadal without dropping a set.

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19/03/2015     © Frixo 2026