Milos Raonic’s injury woes have continued after he was forced to withdraw from his match against Yuichi Sugita at the Japan Open.
Third-seeded Raonic returned to action earlier this week after almost two months away from the tour due to a wrist injury. Taking on Sugita for a place in the quarter-finals in Tokyo, the former Wimbledon finalist called for a trainer during the first game. After one point, Raonic was seen clutching his right calve before seeking a medical time-out. He tried to resume play, but retired a point later.
“I picked up a strain to the calf. It’s hard to know the extent of it, I’ll have to wait because it’s too soon to have an exact evaluation. It happened when the score was deuce, I felt a sharp pain at the back of my leg. I will head home now and get medical attention.” Raonic told atpworldtour.com.
“It’s been a difficult and frustrating year, I obviously wish I could have focused on tennis more rather than chasing help all the time. My wrist isn’t a concern, because the process was a cleaning and not a structural change. It was kind of a growth that happened over time. Therefore, it was very simple and something that needed the swelling to go down.”
Poor @milosraonic is forced to retire after just one game in Tokyo.
Japan’s @sugitayuichi88 advances to his fifth ATP quarter-final of 2017 pic.twitter.com/a4dFLfphD6
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 5 October 2017
As a result of Raonic’s retirement, Sugita have progressed to his second consecutive ATP quarterfinal after Chendu last week. He will next take on France’s Adrian Mannarino. Sugita is currently tied at 2-2 in his head-to-head with the Frenchman.
David Goffin experienced better fortunes with his marathon win over qualifier Matthew Ebden. Goffin, who won his first title of the season last week in Shenzhen, prevailed 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(1). The fourth seed was leading the deciding set 5-2, before the world No.139 staged a comeback to level the score at 5-5. Heading into the tiebreaker, it was Goffin’s experience that proved critical as he claimed seven consecutive points to seal the win.
Due to his shaky start to the match, Goffin ended the encounter with a record of 20 winners and 39 unforced errors. An almost identical tally to Ebden’s 29 and 39.
In the quarter-finals, the Belgian faces a tough task against France’s Richard Gasquet. Gasquet, who is unseeded in the draw, got to to a perfect start on route to defeating Lu Yen-Hsun 6-0, 7-6(5). Also experiencing injury setbacks in recent months, it is the first time the 31-year-old has reached the last eight of an ATP tournament since the Eastbourne International in June.
