Raonic hampered by thigh injury in Aussie Open loss to Rafael Nadal
MELBOURNE, Australia — Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic limped out of the Australian Open on Wednesday after a nagging thigh injury flared up during a quarter-final loss to Spanish star Rafael Nadal.
Raonic, the third seed from Thornhill, Ont., was trying to repeat his best showing at the Grand Slam tournament by reaching the semifinals for a second straight year. He lost to Andy Murray in the 2016 semis.
Many wondered if this was Raonic’s year after top-ranked Murray and No. 2 Novak Djokovic were upset in earlier rounds.
It has been a struggle from the beginning, however, as Raonic came down with a cold early in the tournament and was bed-ridden for a day. His timing seemed slightly off against Roberto Bautista Agut in the round of 16, when he racked up 55 unforced errors and even uncharacteristically hurled his racket to the court midway through the third set.