Raonic’s run at Australian Open ends in semifinals
Canada’s Milos Raonic fought through the pain of an adductor injury during his run to the title at the recent Brisbane International.
A flareup of the problem proved to be too much to overcome on a much bigger stage Friday.
Raonic missed a chance to become the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam men’s singles final as he dropped a 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 decision to Andy Murray at the Australian Open. The 25year-old from Thornhill, Ont., said he started having difficulty pushing off his right leg midway through the third set.
Raonic managed to take the tiebreaker before fading over the final two sets in a match that lasted just over four hours.
“It’s unfortunate ... probably the most heartbroken I’ve felt on court, but that’s what it is,” Raonic said. “I was going to play and try to do whatever I could.”
Murray, the No. 2 seed from Scotland, will face Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final.
With a 2-1 lead in the fourth set, Raonic needed off-court treatment for his leg. When he returned, his power game was weakened and errors mounted as the clock moved toward midnight at the Rod Laver Arena.
Raonic had been hoping to join Eugenie Bouchard in the rarefied circle of Canadians who’ve reached Grand Slam singles finals – Bouchard did it at Wimbledon in 2014.
Montreal native Greg Rusedski reached the U.S. Open final in 1997 but he was representing Great Britain at the time.
Raonic fell to Roger Federer at Wimbledon two years ago in his only other Grand Slam semifinal appearance.
The Canadian beat the veteran Swiss star in the Brisbane final this month for his eighth career ATP Tour title.
Toronto’s Daniel Nestor is scheduled to play in the men’s doubles final on Saturday with Czech partner Radek Stepanek.