Milos Raonic and south Florida go way back. The 26 year old has been stomping around tennis courts in the sun-soaked state ever since he was a teenager competing in the Orange Bowl, the prestigious international junior tournament held annually in Miami. As a teen, Raonic said, he envisioned playing at the sport's highest level in the same city, at the Miami Open presented by Itau, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. Few juniors make the leap from the Orange Bowl to the top of the ATP World Tour, but Raonic has more than taken that big step, which makes the next two weeks of the Miami tournament that much more special to him. “The whole experience of playing...
A week after meeting Novak Djokovic in the third round in Indian Wells, Juan Martin del Potro could face another all-time great early at the Miami Open presented by Itaú, which starts on Wednesday in Key Biscayne. The 29th-seeded del Potro opens with a bye and could meet Dutchman Robin Haase or 18-year-old Swede wild card Mikael Ymer in the second round. In the third round, the Argentine could face BNP Paribas Open champion Roger Federer. Federer, the fourth seed in Miami, leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 15-5, but the two haven't played since the round-robin stage of the 2013 ATP Finals. Federer won that three-set battle 7-5 in the third. The Swiss star will be going for his...
• The BNP Paribas Open championship on Sunday is an all-Swiss match-up between No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka,and No. 9 seed Roger Federer. It is the first all-countrymen final in Indian Wells since 2001 when Andre Agassi defeated Pete Sampras. There have been four other all-American finals in the tournament’s 42-year history. Federer comes into his seventh Indian Wells final without losing a set or serve. Wawrinka is making his first appearance in the Indian Wells final. This is the oldest combined final in tournament history between Federer (35y, 7m) and Wawrinka (31y, 11m). The winner will become the oldest champion in tournament history, surpassing Jimmy Connors (31y, 5m), who captured the title in 1984. • Federer owns a 19-3...
All of Canada will be on their feet on Saturday when two of their native sons clash for the first time at the professional level. Highly touted as the future of Canadian tennis, longtime friends will become rivals as future #NextGenATP star Denis Shapovalov battles fellow Canadian teen Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Drummondville. A spot in a first Challenger final will be on the line for both competitors, in what is the third-youngest semi-final in Challenger history. It's only fitting that the first pro encounter between 17-year-old Shapovalov and 16-year-old Auger Aliassime comes at the Challenger Banque Nationale Drummondville. The tournament holds a special place in both players' hearts. In 2015, Auger-Aliassime...
• Three new faces – No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka, No. 17 seed Jack Sock and No. 21 seed Pablo Carreno Busta join four-time champion and No. 9 seed Roger Federer in the BNP Paribas Open semi-finals on Saturday. Federer has cruised into his 10th Indian Wells semi-final without losing a set or serve while the trio of first-time semi-finalists each have lost at least one set. • In the opening match, Wawrinka brings a 2-0 head-to-head record against Carreno Busta, who is making his ATP Masters 1000 semi-final debut. Wawrinka won both previous meetings on clay in 2013 and last year. The 25-year-old Spaniard saved two match points in his three-set quarter-final win over No. 27 seed Pablo Cuevas....
