Pinched nerve slows down Raonic in loss
MASON, OHIO— With a bothersome injury blunting his lethal serve, Canada’s Milos Raonic lost his bid for a second straight quarter-final appearance at a Masters 1000 event with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 loss to American John Isner Thursday at the Western & Southern Open.
Coming off a trip to the finals in last week’s Rogers Cup, Raonic was treated for a pinched nerve in his neck after five games of the match, which featured an opening set lasting almost one hour. After the on-court session, Raonic managed to carry on.
Raonic admitted that his usual 130-140 kilometre-per-hour serving speed has been compromised in his recent matches due to the physical problem.
“It made a few situations more difficult and it also relieved pressure on (Isner’s) return games,” he said. “But I was able to do a lot of things well to compensate for that lack of serving ability.”
The loss was the second against Isner for the Thornhill, Ont., native. Raonic was also beaten by his North American rival in their only other meeting last summer in Toronto.
Raonic ended a frustrating afternoon with a paltry four aces and lost his serve twice.
The world No. 10 will likely benefit from some rest with the U.S. Open starting a week from Monday in New York.
“I should be fine once the arm gets up to speed,” Raonic said. “I’m very optimistic going into the Open.”
He said the shoulder issues came up early in the Rogers Cup week where he made the final against Rafael Nadal and reached a top10 ranking for the first time.
“I’ll get in some training and concentrate on the physical and stay away from the tennis for a few days,” the 22-year-old said. “I’ll then get back onto the court as much as I can.”