Paris, Nov 1 (IANS) World No.2 Roger Federer was stunned at the BNP Paribas Masters quarterfinals here by Canada’s sole representative in ATP rankings top 10, Milos Raonic while Briton Andy Murray too exited the tennis tournament.
“I’m accepting this defeat,” said the former top-ranked Swiss, who Friday night lost in straight sets to miss the 2,884,675 euros event’s semifinals, reports Xinhua.
Raonic, 23, fired 21 aces in a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over the 33-year-old Federer, who led 6-0 in all of their previous encounters.
“This was the biggest win for me,” said Raonic after the match. “It’s the first time that I beat Federer. It’s fantastic.”
The victory keeps alive the Canadian’s chance of qualifying for next month’s World Tour Finals in London.
It’s a big blow for 17-time Grand Slam winner Federer, however, especially in the middle of his effort of snatching Novak Djokovic’s world No.1 ranking.
“I think he played well. Clearly served well when he had to,” commented Federer. “If he serves that accurate and that well over a long period of time, he’s always going to remain in the match.”
Raonic will play world No. 5 Tomas Berdych in the semifinals.
“It’s going to be difficult,” said Raonic when asked to see the next match ahead. “He’s playing quite well since the end of the U.S. Open.”
Berdych pulled out a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 victory over 14th seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa earlier in the day.
With the victory, the Czech secured a berth to London where the Finals were slated on Nov. 9-16.
In the other half of the singles main draw, defending champion Novak Djokovic snapped Murray’s gallop around the world collecting titles and ranking points with a 7-5, 6-2 win, while Kei Nishikori of Japan launched a superb comeback to deny Spaniard David Ferrer 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
However, the current eighth-ranked Murray, who saw his 11 match winning streak come to an end, achieved his main goal in Paris by booking a London place after making the quarterfinals.
On doubles part, No. 1 seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the US beat Leander Paes of India and Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-3 to set up a semifinal clash with Thursday’s winners Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, while Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez will play against Marcin Matkowski and Jurgen Melzer.