Pinched nerve, Andy Murray end Milos Raonic’s Madrid run
Madrid Masters run ended for Milos Raonic on Friday when the Canadian – hobbled by a foot injury – lost his quarterfinal match to Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5.
Raonic, whose approach game and court coverage has improved tremendously over the last year, was visibly slowed by his ailment, which first publicly surfaced in Monte Carlo in April, when the Canadian was forced to retire in a match against Tomas Berdych. On Saturday, he took to Twitter to announce he will be having surgery.
The marquee matchup in Madrid still lived up to some of its expectations however, as the two highly-ranked men (Murray is number three in the world, Raonic is sixth) exchanged some technically brilliant shots on Spanish clay despite Raonic’s obvious discomfort.
Milos Raonic reaches to return a shot against Andy Murray on May 8, 2015 at Madrid Masters.
After the match Raonic was diagnosed with a pinched nerve in his right foot. On one occasion during play in the second set, Raonic was seen taking off his right shoe and stretch out the problem area between points. The Canadian was pragmatic about the reality he faced.
“It was a good match for what it was,” Raonic said, quoted by the Associated Press. “I just tried to fight through, considering the situation. I tried to make the most of the opportunities and considering everything, it was pretty good.”
Raonic said he wants to be “one hundred percent” next time he steps on to the court. It is not known at time of writing how soon the Canadian will be able to play following surgery. The French Open (the season’s second grand slam) begins the week of May 24.
Thursday
Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic continued to roll at the Madrid Masters, winning his third round match over Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-4, 6-3.
The players traded service games all the way to the last one of the opening set on Thursday, with Raonic up 5-4. After dropping the first point, the Canada won the next four to break Mayer and take a one set lead.
Milos Raonic serves at the Madrid Masters against Juan Monaco on May 5, 2015.
Raonic got ahead of the Argentine much quicker in the second set, breaking Mayer’s serve in the second game before consolidating for a 3-0 lead, saving three break points along the way. The rest of the match went as planned for Raonic, holding serve all the way to 6-3 second set win to wrap up the evening.
The win sets up a showdown with number two seed Andy Murray on Friday. The Scotsman played two matches on Thursday, with his previous round contest going past midnight the previous evening against Philipp Kohlschreiber. He then disposed of Marcel Granollers in the third round to meet fifth seed Raonic.
Tuesday
Milos Raonic’s first match back since retiring with a foot injury in Monte Carlo last month yielded a straight-sets victory over Juan Monaco in Madrid on Tuesday.
The Canadian overcame his Argentine opponent 6-3, 6-4 in the second round on clay as the ATP Tour’s big hitters continue to prepare for the French Open later this month. The fifth seed, Raonic had a first round bye.
Milos Raonic in action at the Monte Carlo Masters, April 16, 2015.
Raonic converted two of his four break points (one each set), had nine aces, won 84% of his first serve points, and never looked in danger of losing a service game. He will await the winner of Leonardo Mayer and Feliciano Lopez in the third.
RELATED: Injury forces Raonic out of Monte Carlo
In his three previous outings in this prestigious Masters 1000 tournament it took Roger Federer, clay-court specialist Fernando Verdasco and Kei Nishikori to knock Raonic out of Madrid.
Last month, Raonic beat two opponents on clay before retiring with a foot injury against Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo Masters.
