Goffin ousts Wawrinka, Raonic also through
(Reuters) - Belgian David Goffin overcame a bout of nerves late in the second and third sets to claim "the best win" of his career, ousting third seed Stan Wawrinka in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday.
Goffin sealed victory 6-3 5-7 7-6(5) when his Swiss opponent netted a forehand in a closely contested tiebreak after a wildly fluctuating match that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
It was only the second occasion during his career when Goffin had beaten a player ranked in the top 10, and it earned him a spot in the last eight of an ATP Masters 1000 event for just the second time.
The 25-year-old Belgian will next meet big-serving Croat Marin Cilic, who beat Frenchman Richard Gasquet 7-5 5-7 6-2.
"It was the best win of my career, for sure," Goffin told Tennis Channel after an often erratic encounter that featured 13 breaks of serve in searing heat. "I had some problems with my serve, a little bit with my toss.
"It was tough with the heat and the sun to control the ball."
After breaking Wawrinka three times to sweep through the opening set, Goffin raced into 5-3 leads in both the second and third without managing to serve out for victory on either occasion.
Wawrinka, who smashed his racket in frustration early in the second set, levelled the match as the Belgian's service game wavered and won three of the last four games in the third.
However, at 5-5 in the tiebreak, the Swiss stunningly hit a forehand smash long with Goffin completely stranded to hand his opponent match point and the Belgian clinched the win when Wawrinka hit a forehand into the net.
Also advancing into the last eight was towering Canadian Milos Raonic, the 12th seed, who overpowered sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4 7-6(7).
In later matches on Wednesday, defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic faces Spaniard Feliciano Lopez while seventh-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga takes on Austria's Dominic Thiem.