Raonic advances, McEnroe joins staff

PARIS— Canadian Milos Raonic overcame a hip issue to advance to the fourth round of the French Open for the second time in three years.

The hard-serving No. 8 seed from Thornhill converted his fifth match point to get past Andrej Martin of Slovakia 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3 on Friday.

Raonic needed treatment in the third set to loosen the muscles in his left hip area.

“The trainer was able to assure me that from what he could tell, there was nothing serious there,” Raonic said.

“I’ll have tests done on it now and take it from there.”

Later in the day, John McEnroe said on the Eurosport show “The Commissioner” he is going to be a consultant for Raonic at Wimbledon next month. Raonic is being coached in Paris by 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya and Riccardo Piatti. McEnroe won three championships at the All England Club in the early 1980s. He is working as a TV analyst at the French Open.

The 2014 French Open quarter-finalist compiled a 43-22 edge in winners. Raonic is the lone Canadian left in the singles draw after Eugenie Bouchard was eliminated Thursday. Meanwhile, nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal pulled out of the tournament on Friday, citing an injury to his left wrist.

He announced his withdrawal the day before he would have been scheduled to play in the third round. The left-handed Spaniard wore a blue brace on his wrist during what he called “one of the toughest press conferences in my career.” Nadal won his second-round match in straight sets Thursday, playing after getting an injection to numb the pain in his wrist.