Raonic's National Bank Open run halted in 3rd round by unseeded American, Fernandez also ousted
Gregory Strong, Daniel Rainbird | The Canadian Press | Posted: August 10, 2023 7:33 PM | Last Updated: August 11, 2023
No Canadians remaining in men's and women's singles tournaments
There were occasional flashes of the old Milos Raonic during his run to the third round at the National Bank Open.
Expectations were low this week for the 32-year-old Canadian, just two months into a comeback after nearly two years away from the ATP Tour.
At times, Raonic looked like the player who was a force in the mid-2010s. At others, he appeared rusty and error-prone. His performance Thursday included more of the latter and it proved costly.
American Mackenzie McDonald rolled to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Raonic in a rain-interrupted match that ended Canada's hopes in the singles draw at Sobeys Stadium.
"Some things came together well, some things I can hope to do better," Raonic said. "I did everything I could and it took me where it did."
WATCH | Raonic eliminated by McDonald:
The velocity of the booming serve that helped Raonic to a pair of early wins was down a tick in the afternoon matchup.
Unforced errors were also a problem for the former world No. 3, who couldn't find a groove against his more consistent opponent.
"I didn't have that same kind of speed on the serve that I needed to," Raonic said. "And it's just a buildup over the last few matches and these kind of things.
"I just needed to be better in that case, and I wasn't able to be."
Raonic looked rested and strong in a three-set upset win over ninth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe on Monday night. A straight-set victory over Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel followed on Wednesday.
However, Raonic seemed handcuffed by the 59th-ranked McDonald, who played a steady, effective style, seemingly content to keep the aggressiveness in check and let Raonic make mistakes.
The approach paid off with his first career appearance in a Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
McDonald will next play Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who pulled out a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) upset win over third-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway.
For Raonic, who grew up in nearby Thornhill, Ont., it was his first appearance at his hometown tournament since 2018 and the crowds showed him love at every turn.
McDonald broke Raonic in his opening service game in both sets and kept the Canadian guessing. He worked in the occasional serve and volley and his ball placement was on point.
Raonic forced a three-deuce game late in the second set but McDonald held serve and would close out the win in 68 minutes.
Many spectators stood to applaud Raonic as he left centre court, not knowing if it will be his final appearance here since the men's event won't return to the York University venue until 2025.
"I think it's probably the most special and endearing thing about these three matches, from Monday night to yesterday to today, through the ups and downs of it all, that energy that you can't quantify in any way or you can't put a name to it," Raonic said.
"But you can kind of just like close your eyes and wish you were in that same scenario many times over."
'I've just got to keep looking forward'
Now down to No. 545 in the world after his long absence due to injury, Raonic can still use his protected ranking for main-draw entries.
He hasn't tipped his hand on plans for 2024 and beyond, instead prioritizing focus on the current hardcourt season.
"I've just got to keep looking forward and keep it short-term," Raonic said.
Play on all courts was suspended for just over an hour in the early afternoon due to thunderstorms.
Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain narrowly avoided the upset in a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) victory over 15th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland. Alcaraz's over-reliance on the dropshot almost cost him the match in front of Edmonton Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Alcaraz will face 12th-seeded Tommy Paul, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Marcos Giron in an all-American match.
Murray withdraws due to injury
Fan favourite Andy Murray had to withdraw from the tournament due to a nagging injury which allowed seventh-seed Jannik Sinner of Italy to advance. Murray apologized to the crowd for not being able to play.
Sinner will play 36-year-old Gael Monfils of France, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Australia's Aleksandar Vukic.
Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia booked a quarterfinal spot with a 6-4, 6-4 win over 16th-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
Medvedev, the 2021 winner in Toronto who has five tour victories this year, will face Alex de Minaur of Australia. De Minaur topped eighth-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-1.
In doubles play, wild-card entries Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., and Nicolas Mahut of France dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision to the sixth-seeded German pair of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.
Play continues through Sunday at the $7.62-million US tournament.
Fernandez falls to American Danielle Collins
Canada's Leylah Fernandez is out of the women's tournament in Montreal after losing to American qualifier Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-3 in third-round action late Thursday night.
Backed by a half-full but boisterous crowd at IGA Stadium — with persistent "Let's go Leylah!" chants throughout the evening — the 20-year-old from Laval, Que., lost momentum early and double faulted to give up a crucial breakpoint late in the second set as Collins cruised to victory.
Fernandez was the last Canadian remaining in the WTA 1000 tournament, which runs through Sunday.
Fernandez feels like she just went through a learning experience.
Fernandez, who normally goes to sleep early, realized she'll need to learn to handle those circumstances better after her opponent thrived under the same conditions.
"Late night matches, I love them, but I gotta change my sleep schedule, so I just gotta learn how to manage this," she said of the match that got underway at 10 p.m. local time — three hours later than the scheduled start.
"This is a good learning experience, good way to see what I did well and what we can do better, either wake up later or have more naps, but I think it's a great experience for me to learn as an athlete."
WATCH | Fernandez eliminated by Collins:
Collins, who's now won five straight in Montreal, was nearly untouchable while serving, winning 78.7 per cent of her service points without giving up a single breakpoint opportunity in the match, which lasted 80 minutes.
The 29-year-old advances to the quarterfinals, where she'll play world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland on Friday afternoon.
Fernandez has advanced to the quarterfinals of a WTA event just once this season — in January at a lower-level tournament in New Zealand.
The match got underway at 10 p.m. local time — three hours later than the scheduled start — after rainy weather delayed play throughout the day.
But Collins didn't waste time getting going. After holding serve to start the match, she had a double breakpoint opportunity in the ensuing game. Fernandez, however, fended off the early threat to keep things even.
Collins finally broke through on her fifth break point two games later to go up 3-1.
Down 5-2, Fernandez hit two consecutive double faults — of which she had five on the night — on the way to losing serve again as Collins took the opening set.
Collins also had a couple double faults of her own, leading to loud cheers from the fans as the American also had to beat the crowd on Thursday night.
That did little to affect her play, however, as Collins kept rolling through the second set.
Although Fernandez hung on to her serve through the service games, she did little to challenge Collins on the other end.
Up 4-3, Collins broke Fernandez a final time to serve for the match, where she made no mistake, finishing it with two winners.
Fernandez, who entered the tournament ranked 81st in singles, leaves the tournament after beating American qualifier Peyton Stearns in the first round and then upsetting No. 11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in a three-set thriller on Wednesday.
Collins, ranked 48th in the world, beat Wimbledon semifinalist Elina Svitolina in the first round and No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari in the second — both in straight sets — after making it through qualification.
Swiatek tops Muchova to reach quarters
Earlier Thursday, Swiatek defeated No. 14 seed Karolina Muchova of Czechia 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in a match that had a total of six hours 10 minutes in rain delays.
It was the first meeting between the two opponents since this year's French Open final, which Swiatek — the No. 1 for 71 weeks running — won in three sets.
Up 1-0 and a break in the third set when the rainy weather finally subsided, Swiatek held serve the rest of the way to win the match.
Muchova had a double break opportunity down 2-1, but Swiatek held it off with two consecutive aces before winning the game and maintaining the advantage.
No. 10 Daria Kasatkina beat Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 6-4 to advance. She'll face No. 3 Elena Rybakyna, who beat American Sloane Stephens, in Friday's quarters.
Pegula also advances
Before the weather took a turn for the worse, fourth seed Jessica Pegula of the United States advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Italy's Jasmine Paolini.
The American is looking for her first NBO Open title after reaching the semifinals at the last two tournaments.
Pegula will next face sixth seed and doubles partner Coco Gauff of the United States, who beat Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in just 62 minutes.
Third-round matches between No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 15 Liudmila Samsonova, and No. 7 Petra Kvitova and No. 12 Belinda Bencic will take place on Friday due to the delays.