In his first action since foot surgery that caused him to miss the French Open, Raonic won two matches before getting knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Aegon Championships.
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The tournament at The Queen’s Club in London is a tune-up event for Wimbledon. Play in the year’s third tennis major begins on June 29.
Raonic missed about a month have doctors fixed a pinched nerve in his right foot. While his conditioning is a work in progress after the layoff, Raonic displayed his most dangerous weapon — a powerful serve.
A Wimbledon semifinalist last year, the world’s No. 8 player should be in form as he begins the fortnight.
“The tennis I thought was great,” said Raonic, who is from Thornhill, Ont. “The only thing I really have to be disappointed with is I wish I would have sort of gutted it out a bit more, tried to play on my terms. I was waiting for him too much and I let him dictate.”
Raonic’s run at Queen’s ended Friday in a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 quarterfinal loss to Gilles Simon of France. Simon said later Raonic’s serve was good as ever.
Countryman Richard Gasquet could attest to that as well. Raonic unloaded 29 aces in Wednesday’s 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory. And he had 24 in an opening-round 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 win over James Ward.
Going three sets in all three matches showed Raonic must hone his game, but max efforts also allowed him to get much-needed work on grass courts ahead of Wimbledon.
Still, Raonic is a long shot in early Wimbledon odds. He stands at 30-1 in Las Vegas, where world-beater Novak Djokovic is 11-10.
The top American in Vegas odds? John Isner at 100-1.
