Raonic can only blame himself for French Open fall

Canadian makes 84 unforced errors in his gruelling Round 4 loss Carreno Busta

PARIS — Too many errors spelled the end of Milos Raonic’s run at the French Open.

The No. 5 seed from Thornhill, Ont., was upset by Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (6), 6-4, 8-6, and committed a whopping 84 unforced errors in the hard-slogging match that stretched four hours and 17 minutes.

“Heavy disappointment,” Raonic said. “That’s probably the best way to describe it.”

The 26-year-old Raonic fought off six match points before Carreno Busta finally won with a forehand volley at the net, with Raonic near the back of the court.

Asked if nerves played a part, Raonic talked about his confidence on clay.

“I think it’s just most of the time when I come on clay I’ll come in playing pretty well on hard courts, so that’s where I get my confidence,” he said.

“It’s not necessarily the easiest for me to pick up confidence on clay courts. I can win matches and I can find ways, but it’s not sort of the surface that comes the most naturally to me.”

Carreno Busta will face nine-time champ Rafael Nadal, who eased past 17th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The Spaniard won in less than two hours.

Nadal, 31, is seeking his 10th French Open title and 15th Grand Slam title. His last major came at Roland Garros in 2014.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic is through to the quarter-finals for the eighth straight year. He beat 19th-seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3. Next up for Djokovic is No. 6 Dominic Thiem of Austria.

Venus Williams lost to 30th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland. Bacsinszky won 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

“Heavy disappointment. That’s probably the best way to describe it.” — Milos Raonic on his error-filled defeat on Sunday at the French Open

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza lost to France’s Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Teenager Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia downed Samantha Stosur 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Ostapenko now faces former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who beat 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

— The Canadian Press, with files from The Associated Press

GETTY IMAGES Canada’s Milos Raonic reacts after making a shot during his Round 4 match against Pablo Carreno Busta Sunday at the French Open. Roanic lost in five sets.