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Giant killer Goffin sets up Raonic semi at Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic will meet Milos Raonic in the men’s singles final in Indian Wells, California, on Sunday after their respective wins over Rafael Nadal and David Goffin on Saturday.

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The Serb also owns a 25-23 edge in the longest running rivalry in the Open era, having won six straight meetings and 10 of the last 11.

World No 1 Novak Djokovic takes on Canadian Milos Raonic in the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on 20 March.

Although Nadal made crucial errors in the first set that turned the match decisively in Djokovic’s favor, he will be encouraged that the match was much more competitive than in Doha and that his form in general is much better than in his highly disappointing 2015 season.

“He’s playing well. He’s taking the ball early”.

But the Spaniard, who has been ravaged by injury over the last two seasons, has shown signs of a resurgence in recent days, impressively beating Japan’s Kei Nishikori in his quarter-final.

Nadal came under increasing pressure to hold serve in the second set as Djokovic dominated their baseline exchanges and the Spanish left-hander finally cracked in the sixth game when he dumped another forehand into the net to trail 2-4.

Raonic, who reached his 17th career ATP final and second Masters final after losing to Nadal for the Montreal Masters title in 2013, roared through the first set in 34 minutes but struggled in the second with his serve as he tried to increase speed without sacrificing other components of his game.

We are getting down to the nitty-gritty now in Indian Wells.

“I did things well”.

“I think you just sort of change your mentality a bit, but I don’t think the game plan for me changes”, Raonic said. “He’s trying to, you know, maybe not overpower but take away time from his opponents”.

“Definitely have been playing higher level this year, but I think also when I have had those hard moments or let’s say some kind of crisis throughout matches, I have found solutions better”, Raonic said.

A day after ousting third seed Stan Wawrinka, Goffin battled hard to reach his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final, saving 11 of 12 break points before sealing the win in just over an hour-and-a-half.

“His serve was phenomenal… seems like he has improved even more, especially the second serve”.

As expected, Raonic’s serve was a big factor in helping beat Monfils for the second time this year.

The second set was a lot easier for the 28-year-old, who broke his Spanish opponent’s serve twice, and Canada’s Milos Raonic now waits in the final.

I’m really happy with the way I managed the important points.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and his family took in the game from Raonic’s player box. Cilic lost to Goffin almost two weeks ago on clay in Belgium during first-round Davis Cup play.

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In the women’s doubles final, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe defeated Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 4-6, 6-4, 10-6.

Milos Raonic