Canadian Milos Raonic falls short in round of 16 at Miami Open

MIAMI — Canada’s Milos Raonic is out of the Miami Open after losing a close match in the round of 16.

The 12th-seeded Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) to No. 26 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland on Tuesday.

It was the second upset in a row against a Canadian for Hurkacz, who knocked off No. 6 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., on Monday, and his third against a North American opponent after downing American Denis Kudla in the second round.

“Just the way it worked out this week so far,” Hurkacz said. “Very happy with my performances.

“Obviously pumped to play another match here in Miami. Just trying my best.”

Raonic fell one win short of making the quarterfinals at the ATP Masters 1000 event for the fourth time.

Hurkacz will face the winner of a match later Monday between No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and No. 24 seed Lorenzo Sonego of Italy.

Hurkacz got a mini-break on the first point of the third-set tiebreak and never trailed. Raonic fought off three match points before Hurkacz finished him off.

Raonic saved 10-of-11 break points he faced in the match, while converting on one-of-two.

Raonic’s big weapon — his serve — wasn’t as effective as his opponent’s. The Canadian won 75 per cent of his points when he got his first serve in, while Hurkacz was good for 81 per cent.

Hurkacz had 14 aces, two more than Raonic.

“I think I served very well and that helped me to stay in the game and be competitive against Milos… He’s a very dangerous player,” Hurkacz said.

“I’m pretty happy with my serve today, and I felt I was returning pretty good. In the middle of the first set he was serving bombs and I was just trying to hold my serve to be there.”

In a women’s doubles quarterfinal Tuesday, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico beat Americans Coco Gauff and Caty McNally 6-4, 7-6 (4).

In women’s singles, eighth-seeded Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., will face unseeded Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in a quarterfinal Wednesday night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2021.

The Canadian Press