<p class="title">World number seven Dominic Thiem reached an Indian Wells Masters semifinal showdown with Milos Raonic without hitting a ball on Thursday as injured Gael Monfils withdrew.</p>.<p class="bodytext">France's Monfils, ranked 19th in the world, pulled out shortly before his scheduled quarterfinal against Thiem with left Achilles tendon trouble.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Monfils said he'd felt discomfort in his ankle for a couple of days and had been receiving treatment, but the pain was worse after his fourth-round win over Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday night.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I tried a little jog this morning, and I couldn't really actually push on it," he said. "Then we taped it. Then I hit a little bit tonight, and I felt that I cannot be 100 per cent. I have this pain, and it wasn't the right choice to play."</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said an ultrasound exam confirmed severe inflammation, and he wasn't yet sure if it would prevent him from playing the upcoming Miami Masters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Thiem is through to the semifinals at Indian Wells for the first time, having reached the quarters once before in 2017.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raonic ended the dream run of lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic, beating the 19-year-old Serbian 6-3, 6-4.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raonic, ranked 14th in the world, fired 13 aces and broke Kecmanovic once in each set to keep his bid to better his 2016 runner-up finish on track.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raonic's serve wasn't at it's booming best. He put only 55 per cent of his first serves in play.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I think that can get better," Raonic said. "But there are other things I'm doing well, for sure. As soon as I had a chance on the first forehand, I was able to find my way to be the one dictating the point."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be vying to set up a blockbuster semi-final when the play in the other two quarterfinals later on Friday.</p>.<p class="CrossHead">Venus ousted </p>.<p>A slew of errors came at the worst possible time for Venus Williams on Thursday as she blew a first set tiebreak before losing 7-6 (3), 6-3 to Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.</p>.<p>Momentum swung firmly in Kerber's favour during the tie-break when Venus committed six unforced errors, including a backhand into the net that handed the German the set.</p>.<p>The match, which featured two former world number ones, ended when Venus sent a backhand long on match point.</p>.<p>Kerber will play Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, whose resurgence continued on Thursday as she advanced with a battling 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over fifth-ranked Karolina Pliskova.</p>.<p>Bencic, a former world number seven whose ranking slumped as injuries stalled her career, took her current winning streak to 12 matches.</p>.<p>Six of those wins have come against top-10 players, including a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over world number one and defending Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.</p>
<p class="title">World number seven Dominic Thiem reached an Indian Wells Masters semifinal showdown with Milos Raonic without hitting a ball on Thursday as injured Gael Monfils withdrew.</p>.<p class="bodytext">France's Monfils, ranked 19th in the world, pulled out shortly before his scheduled quarterfinal against Thiem with left Achilles tendon trouble.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Monfils said he'd felt discomfort in his ankle for a couple of days and had been receiving treatment, but the pain was worse after his fourth-round win over Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday night.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I tried a little jog this morning, and I couldn't really actually push on it," he said. "Then we taped it. Then I hit a little bit tonight, and I felt that I cannot be 100 per cent. I have this pain, and it wasn't the right choice to play."</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said an ultrasound exam confirmed severe inflammation, and he wasn't yet sure if it would prevent him from playing the upcoming Miami Masters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Thiem is through to the semifinals at Indian Wells for the first time, having reached the quarters once before in 2017.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raonic ended the dream run of lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic, beating the 19-year-old Serbian 6-3, 6-4.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raonic, ranked 14th in the world, fired 13 aces and broke Kecmanovic once in each set to keep his bid to better his 2016 runner-up finish on track.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Raonic's serve wasn't at it's booming best. He put only 55 per cent of his first serves in play.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I think that can get better," Raonic said. "But there are other things I'm doing well, for sure. As soon as I had a chance on the first forehand, I was able to find my way to be the one dictating the point."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will be vying to set up a blockbuster semi-final when the play in the other two quarterfinals later on Friday.</p>.<p class="CrossHead">Venus ousted </p>.<p>A slew of errors came at the worst possible time for Venus Williams on Thursday as she blew a first set tiebreak before losing 7-6 (3), 6-3 to Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.</p>.<p>Momentum swung firmly in Kerber's favour during the tie-break when Venus committed six unforced errors, including a backhand into the net that handed the German the set.</p>.<p>The match, which featured two former world number ones, ended when Venus sent a backhand long on match point.</p>.<p>Kerber will play Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, whose resurgence continued on Thursday as she advanced with a battling 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over fifth-ranked Karolina Pliskova.</p>.<p>Bencic, a former world number seven whose ranking slumped as injuries stalled her career, took her current winning streak to 12 matches.</p>.<p>Six of those wins have come against top-10 players, including a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over world number one and defending Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.</p>