TORONTO–Milos Raonic not only turned back the clock but almost got to rerun his career during a memorable opening night win in his hometown of Toronto.
The 32-year-old Canadian, currently ranked No. 575, defeated No. 10 Frances Tiafoe 6-7(12), 7-6(4), 6-3, but even that eye-catching scoreline doesn’t fully capture the exuberance of the victory.
Raonic is three events and five matches into his comeback tour, having spent two years away from the game and 14 months not picking up a racquet, gaining 40 pounds during an injury break that he thought had likely finished his career. During the more than two-hour 44-minute contest played minutes from his childhood home, he hit 37 aces, almost a career-high for a three-setter, including one on match point to seal a spot in the second round against Taro Daniel.
But the statistics were secondary to the spills and thrills, especially in a tightrope walk first-set tiebreak that finished amid controversy and boos. Having fallen behind right at the start of the match, Raonic broke back to send the first set to a tiebreak that went on and on, highlighted by a scintillating Tiafoe dropshot that spun back onto his side of the court. Even the pro-Raonic crowd cheered that winner, but Tiafoe’s flicked running forehand on set point got quite a different reception. “Initially appearing to be a winner, it then seemed umpire Fergus Murphy had given the point to Raonic as Tiafoe had touched the net, followed by a long discussion between all three — and even an appearance from the tournament supervisor — before Tiafoe was given the point, and with it the set.
Though Murphy attempted to tell the crowd that Tiafoe had touched the doubles portion of the net, considered a “fixture” with which contact is allowed, there were loud boos that only amplified when Raonic walked back to the side of the court and smashed his racquet on his chair.
“So I guess the part that’s confusing is he did call it my point,” Raonic told press following the contest. “Then the change — then the issue was the amount of times the whole conversation was changed.
“Then it was, okay, which part of the net he touched.”
But though admitting he’s “not necessarily the best player involving the crowd” — largely due to his staccato play and stiffness — Raonic was energized by the atmosphere.
“I think that kind of got everybody going. That, and that game that I got fortunate to break back at when he was serving for the first set,” he said. “And I think that just kind of gave me some momentum and some force going forward.”
There were loud cheers and chants of “Let’s go, Milos” accompanying his comeback in the second and third sets, during which he slowly took control with his big serving and improving consistency off the ground.
“It wasn’t the first time a Raonic contest has involved a controversial call — ten years ago on the same court, he won a point against Juan Martin del Potro despite a double hit he eventually would say he should have admitted on court.
There was also an appearance from the trainer for a lower back injury, so frequent during all the physical problems Raonic has had during his career.
And along with that were the other hallmarks of Raonic matches — easy holds, tiebreaks, plenty of aces. But for Raonic, it was more about again having the feeling that goes with it — getting to play in front of friends and family, the roar of the local fans, all in the stadium he once watched from the stands.
He’s not sure whether he’ll retire before he can play this event again, but on this evening, it was like old times.
“For me — it’s incredibly special for it to be here,” he said. “The embrace between my mom and dad, that’s probably the thing…that means the most to me.”
And with his win, there’ll be another repeat of some of those sights and sounds.
