Kyle Edmund was sent packing from the quarter-finals of the Delray Beach Open, losing in three sets to world No 4 Milos Raonic.
The British No 3 was beaten 4-6 6-3 6-4 in 100 minutes but, for a set and a half, gave the top seed plenty to ponder.
In the opening set, the 22-year-old saved a brace of break points in the fourth game before claiming the decisive break three games later and served out to love for the set.
In a serve-dominated encounter in Palm Beach County, the opening seven games of the second set yielded just five points against the serve, before Raonic secured the decisive break to lead 5-3.
The only break of the deciding set came in the opening game, with Raonic’s run of five straight games proving pivotal in the final outcome, as he eventually set up a semi-final with No 7 seed Juan Martin del Potro.
Edmund, the world No 49 and 8th seed, had to concede to Raonic who won 45 of his 50 points on first serve, which included 10 aces.
His next opponent Del Potro beat American Sam Querrey 7-5 7-5 in another serve dominated encounter, with the only breaks arriving in the 11th game of both sets. While the Argentinian fired down eight aces, his beaten opponent had 16.
The other semi-final is an All-American affair between No 3 seed Jack Sock and No 5 Steve Johnson.
