LONDON | Will we see Milos Raonic again on the lawn of the All England Club, where he reached his only final in a Grand Slam tournament seven years ago? “I don’t know. I would say more no than yes,” conceded the Canadian giant, shortly after his defeat in the second round on Thursday.
“But I will probably come back a few times to enjoy the game,” smiled the 32-year-old “returner”.
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His final match at Wimbledon, the former third in the world therefore risks having played it against the 16e favourite, the American Tommy Paul. A Paul to whom Raonic fought a good battle despite a sore body, before finally losing 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4) and 6-4, in almost three hours of play .
He couldn’t climb the stairs
During this duel, the shoulder of the powerful server made him suffer. This was already the case on Wednesday against Austrian Dennis Novak, when he scored his first victory in London since 2019.
That didn’t stop him from slamming 21 aces, however. But to that was added swelling in one knee, so serious that the Ontarian could not even climb the stairs when he took a break to go to the bathroom, between sets.
“For two and a half innings, I could practically only walk on the field,” he told reporters. […] In fact, I think this game should have ended in three sets.
“It’s always a pleasure”
Raonic, however, has no regrets coming to play at Wimbledon, despite the scars it will leave on his body for a while. “It’s Wimbledon. If you had told me that I had played a 250 category tournament elsewhere and that I had felt the same discomfort as today, I would not have found it very pleasant.
“But it’s always a pleasure to be at Wimbledon,” he pointed out.
Before reporting to the All England Club just over a week ago, Raonic – who was playing in the tournament thanks to his protected ranking – had only played two games in nearly two years. He had made a successful comeback in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last month against a member of the top 40, the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, before losing to the Australian Jordan Thompson.
His injured shoulder then forced him to skip the Queen’s tournament.
Serious injuries to his foot and Achilles tendon had previously prevented the eight-time ATP title holder from hitting a single tennis ball for more than a year. The first Canadian man to play in the final of a major tournament (and the only one to date) even considered giving up everything at one point, the rehabilitation process being so long and complex.
He didn’t taste grass
And this return, it may well be short-lived. Raonic is aiming for participation in the Toronto tournament in August, ahead of his family, then at the US Open. Despite the pain felt on Thursday, Raonic is also rather convinced to be back in time for the National Bank Open. “I’d be really unlucky if it wasn’t!” he said.
Then, after New York, he will have “a great conversation with himself” about his future, he said on Sunday.
Unlike other players who are in their last appearance at Wimbledon, Raonic was not tempted to nibble on a few pieces of this grass on which so many legends have been written. “No. I don’t even wanna know what they put on the turf [pour l’entretenir]!” he launched.