U.S. Open: Milos Raonic ousted by Feliciano Lopez in 3rd round
Canadian held to 12 aces in straight-sets defeat
Milos Raonic lost to Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 7-6, 6-3 in men's third-round action at the U.S. Open in New York on Friday night.
The 24-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., struggled with back pain throughout the Grand Slam tournament, requiring attention from a physiotherapist repeatedly during the match with Lopez.
Kudos to <a href="https://twitter.com/milosraonic">@milosraonic</a> for not retiring even though he was clearly injured. Great effort from a great (soon to be) champion. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USOpen2015?src=hash">#USOpen2015</a>
—@beautifulpigeon"My tennis is in OK shape as long as I can get my body behind it," Raonic said. "I was able to win two pretty good matches, considering some sort of setback. But I got to just try to get to 100 per cent, and hopefully I can play a lot more matches where it's just my tennis is the only thing I'm worrying about."
Known for his big serve, Raonic was limited to 12 aces compared to Lopez's 16. Raonic also made 40 unforced errors versus Lopez's 22.
"It's not enjoyable. It's not fun," Raonic said. "Just try to make the most of some situations and deal with it as much as you can.
"Obviously what I had in my capacity wasn't enough today."
Earlier in the tournament, doctors told Raonic his recent discomfort is unrelated to the foot injury that kept him out of the French Open earlier this year.
In a second-round match, the Canadian received treatment during a medical timeout and also massages during some of the changeovers.
With files from CBCSports.ca