Indian Wells, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - In-form Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov was a quarterfinal upset winner Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open, the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year.
The 28th-seed Dolgopolov ousted 10th-seeded Canadian slugger Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-4 in 79 minutes on the hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. "Dog" actually struck more aces (6-4) than the massive-serving Raonic on Day 8.
The surging Dolgopolov stunned world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the third round here on Monday, this after finishing as a runner-up to Nadal in Rio de Janeiro less than three weeks ago.
Up next for Dolgopolov will be seventh-seeded Swiss icon Roger Federer or 17th-seeded South African Kevin Anderson.
Two more quarterfinals on Friday will pit second-seeded Serbian star Novak Djokovic against unseeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau and 12th-seeded American favorite John Isner versus 20th-seeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis. The former world No. 1 Djokovic titled here in 2008 and 2011. The 6-foot-9 Isner was the Indian Wells runner-up two years ago.
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