(Toronto) Milos Raonic will have been the best Canadian player of the 2023 edition of the National Bank Open in Toronto. It will also have been the most surprising.
To understand why no one should consider their 6-3 third-round identical set loss to Mackenzie McDonald a failure, you have to put things into context.
Prior to returning to Canada, Raonic had played only four games since the start of the season. All on grass. Before returning to tennis, he had taken a two-year break. Then, in order to ruin any hope of progressing in the Toronto table, the draw had given him Frances Tiafoe, 10th player in the world, at the start of the tournament.
Despite a context that greatly disadvantaged him, the 32-year-old was able to make it to the third round of a Masters 1000 by playing all his matches on center court during the day.
Unfortunately for him, his journey ended like the 2017 Oscars: quite chaotic.
Neither Damien Chazelle nor Barry Jenkins, two acclaimed directors, could have imagined a worse scenario to end Raonic’s hitherto spotless run.
Already, the sky was overcast and the wind started to blow as soon as the two players warmed up. A few minutes before, the sun and the heat made their star. People in long sleeves regretted their choice. At the start of the game, people in short pants were jealous.
This change in condition no doubt influenced Raonic’s feelings on serve somewhat, as he was broken from the start.
In fact, the Canadian was helpless on serve throughout the game. He still made 18 aces and finished with relatively acceptable stats in this phase of the game, but in the defining moments he was not just a shadow of his former self. On the last play of the first set, he double faulted. Ditto on his first game of the second. Two consecutive breaks on a pair of double faults. He also made three times more double faults than his rival.
“I’ve made stupid mistakes. […] I just didn’t have the necessary speed on my serve,” he summed up after the game.
The Canadian was running out of solutions and possibilities. On the other side, his opponent was only profiting from his mistakes.
Even at times, Raonic got carried away by emotions, showing his displeasure by shouting at his team. Something rather rare in the case of the Canadian, of a rather calm nature, even stoic.
We were far from the incident where he broke his racquet in the first game, frustrated by a decision of the official which he considered unfair. However, the gaps have accumulated this week. At the same time, who wouldn’t be on edge in this context? Raonic sees the end of his career coming and he wanted to win. He still wants it. And he wanted to take this opportunity.
For the rest, even if he still has little perspective on his week, Raonic is proud of what he has accomplished.
There is no doubt, he still has the level to evolve on the world circuit. However, if he wants to stretch the sauce, his body will have to cooperate.
“I did everything I could, as soon as Wimbledon ended. I followed each of the steps to the letter to take care of myself as much as possible. There are still some aspects that I hope to refine,” he added.
It’s been a long road for two years, and although this stop has been generally positive, it has not yet arrived at its destination.
At this point in his career, the question is not “when”, but “how much”.
How many tournaments does he have left?
How many weeks does he want to play per season?
How much time does he want to elapse between each tournament?
How long before retiring for good?
“I try to enjoy the present moment as much as possible. I don’t know. […] I have seen how much things can change in two years. I probably won’t even have the answer in 12 months. I just have to keep glimpsing the short-term future,” Raonic concluded.
