Raonic’s serve in good form at Wimbledon
Canada’s Milos Raonic is through to the second round at Wimbledon.
The Thornhill, Ont., product cruised to a 7-5, 6-0, 6-1 victory over Britain’s Liam Broady in firstround play at the All England Club Monday.
Raonic, seeded 13th at the Grand Slam tournament despite his No. 32 ATP ranking, used his powerful serve to dispatch his opponent, firing 18 aces to Broady’s four.
He converted on 6-of-11 break points while winning all his service games.
Peter Polansky, also of Thornhill, lost his first-round match 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7) to Austria’s Dennis Novak earlier Monday.
Raonic’s Wimbledon future was called into question when he pulled out of the Queen’s Club grass-court tennis tournament with a right pectoral strain two weeks ago.
He also missed the last Grand Slam when he sat out the French Open with an undisclosed injury.
Once No. 3 in the world, Raonic has seen his ranking plummet over the last couple of years because of a litany of injuries.
Canada’s top ranked player, Richmond Hill, Ont., teen Denis Shapovalov at No. 26, opens his tournament Tuesday against France’s Jeremy Chardy. Unseeded Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver takes on Mikhail Kukushkin also Tuesday, while Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., plays British wild card Gabriella Taylor in her main-draw opener.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer, the eight-time Wimbledon champion, began his title defence in style by sweeping aside Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in 79 minutes.
Last year’s runner-up Marin Cilic also advanced easily with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka.
In women’s play, U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens lost 6-1, 6-3 to Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
Last year’s semifinalist Magdalena Rybarikova fell 7-5, 6-3 to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
Serena Williams posted a 7-5, 6-3 win over Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands.