Don’t Know if I’ll Play Montreal Again

 
By Alberto Amalfi | @TennisNow | Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty

A sore shoulder knocked Milos Raonic out of Montreal on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old Canadian conceded he may never play his home tournament again.

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Given his age and litany of injury issues he’s endured in recent years, Raonic says the reality is he may not be competing when the Omnium Banque Nationale returns to Montreal in 2026. That made his withdrawal from Montreal even more painful.

“I’ve had a lot of moments where I haven’t been able to play, but I would say this is probably the most difficult one,” Raonic told the media in Montreal. “Yeah, because, A, I haven’t played here in five years. I don’t know if I’ll come back to Montreal.”

Former world No. 3 Raonic fell to Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in a triple tiebreak marathon on the red clay of Roland Garros in his Olympic opener. Raonic said playing with the heavier balls on dirt took a toll on his serving shoulder.

“We’ve had small things with my shoulder before. It hasn’t always been easy,” Raonic said. “And this might not be a serious thing. I haven’t played on clay in a long time. Obviously the ball is heavier, all these kind of things, playing those three long sets, doubles the next day. It could be just a byproduct of just overload.

“I don’t know if it’s really anything. The tests were not possible because all the tests I would needed to have done was with a contrast. That can irritate your shoulder for a week. It’s not like I could have really gotten any information. It was kind of going off feel and how things feel until now.

“Maybe I was a little too optimistic over the last few days, but I definitely wanted to try up to the last moment to know what was possible. So I’m just trying not to be too bummed out about it.”