Milos Raonic of Canada returns a shot against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during their match at the BNP Paribas Open ATP tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., March 13, 2013. (REUTERS/Danny Moloshok)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has Milos Raonic’s number.
Eighth-seeded Tsonga broke Raonic’s serve in the deciding game Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, eliminating the 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., in the round of 16 with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win.
The only other time the two have met on court was at the London Olympics when Tsonga out-lasted Raonic in an epic second-round showdown that required 48 games to decide the third set. This one was considerably shorter, ending in less than two hours.
Raonic, the 17th seed in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, finished with 12 aces, five more than the Frenchman, but was only one-for-three on break points saved. Tsonga saved four of five break points.
Tsonga will play either top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia or American Sam Querrey, the 23rd seed, in the quarterfinals. Djokovic and Querrey play late Wednesday.
