Raonic out in Queen’s stunner
Print Edition
MILOS Raonic’s preparations for Wimbledon received a setback when he lost to No. 698-ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8) yesterday in the first round of the Queen’s grasscourt tournament.
The third-seeded Raonic was the runner-up at both Queen’s and Wimbledon in 2016, losing in the final to Andy Murray both times.
Kokkinakis trailed 3-6 in the second-set tiebreaker but won on his third match point with a backhand winner into the corner.
It was the first win over a top-10 opponent for the 21-year-old Australian, who has been ravaged by injury problems for the past 22 months. He only played one match in 2016 because of a shoulder problem, and has also missed most of this year.
“It’s everything. It’s huge for me,” Kokkinakis said. “I’ve been out for so long.”
Wimbledon starts on July 3.
Earlier, Murray was handed a new opponent for his first-round match after Aljaz Bedene withdrew because of a wrist injury.
Murray will now play Jordan Thompson, an Australian player ranked No. 90. Thompson lost to Jeremy Chardy in qualifying on Sunday.
France’s Julien Benneteau advanced to the last 16 by beating James Ward 6-2, 6-2.
In Birmingham, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova won her opening match at the Aegon Classic yesterday, beating Tereza Smitkova 6-2, 6-3 at the grass-court tournament.
Kvitova only recently returned to action after being injured in a knife attack at her home last year, playing two matches on clay at the French Open.
“For the first match on grass it was pretty good,” Kvitova said. “I served well, and played some good shots from the baseline, and I think it was good timing on the court today.
“I have made no change to the way I play. We have still been worrying about it (the injury) so I still have days off, to remind us to be careful.”
Kvitova will next play wild-card entry Naomi Broady and could meet fifth-seeded Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic in the quarterfinals.
Britain’s world No. 7 Johanna Konta had to battle back from 2-5 down in the second set to beat Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-3, 7-6 (6).
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