Friday Preview
Milos Raonic [13] vs. Sam Querrey

Canadian-US Clash Rematch of ’18 BNP Paribas Open Quarterfinal

There’s usually a whole lot on the line when these two competitors stand on opposite sides of the net. In fact, four of their five career encounters have come at either the Masters 1000 level or the Grand Slams, including their quarterfinal clash here at the BNP Paribas Open last year.

The ’18 Indian Wells triumph gave Milos Raonic, 28, a slight 3-2 edge in those FedEx ATP Head2Heads. The injury-prone Canadian is seeking his first title in three years, his last coming in Brisbane in 2016. He defeated the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka and Sascha Zverev in reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals earlier this year, and comes into Saturday’s matchup ranked No. 14. (The hard-hitting Canadian’s Eisenhower Cup win earlier in the week could provide a confidence boost.)

Your Eisenhower Cup champion, @milosraonic 🏆 #BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/cZFHiGfAZP

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 6, 2019

After reaching a career-high No. 11 last year, Sam Querrey has slid to No. 51, and is searching for some consistency in his game. The 31-year-old American’s most recent titles came in 2017 on the hard courts of Los Cabos and Acapulco.

Both players share a common go-to weapon: a power serve. But that’s not to say they can’t slug it out from the baseline, too. As Raonic noted of his opponent prior to last year’s match, “He’s got a great serve and a lot of things he can do to take the racquet from you.”