Milos Raonic has reason for optimism after NBO run ends in round ...

TORONTO — For two days, Milos Raonic delighted the crowd and surprised himself with some inspired play at the National Bank Open. In the round of 16, though, his unexpected run ended with the same abruptness of an off-line serve thwapping the net.

Attempting to make his first quarterfinal at a tour-level event since 2020, the Canadian was dispatched 6-3, 6-3 by American Mackenzie McDonald on Thursday afternoon on centre court at Sobeys Stadium. A 90-minute pause for the rain only delayed what felt inevitable from the first game, when Raonic opened the match by winning two service points on two touches of the ball before McDonald — who will now play his first-ever quarterfinal match at this level — claimed four straight points to break his opponent.

From there, it was a lot of anguished looks and angry muttering; the guy who was getting after it through two convincing match wins was suddenly getting after himself as he failed to establish any rhythm at all against McDonald. There were gimmie backhands at the net that failed to get over the tape; cream-puff second serves to the forehand Raonic swatted wide and even some put-it-on-the-board overhead smashes he whacked outside the lines.

“It was a tough match,” Raonic said. “Just some sloppy mistakes. I was up 30-0 that first game and I think I missed three forehands [after that]. When you start that way, he gets comfortable…”

The signature serve that was such a boon for Raonic against Frances Tiafoe and Taro Daniel at the NBO completely abandoned him versus McDonald. The 32-year-old landed just 71 per cent of his first serves in the box and committed five double-faults— including one to end the first set — compared to nine aces, three of which occurred in a consecutive burst late in the second set when the match outcome wasn’t really in doubt.

Compare that to the No. 59-ranked McDonald, who landed 87 per cent of his first serves and, at one point, won 12 straight service points to open the second set. The 28-year-old put a fine point on the disparity between the two players’ serves by closing out Raonic — on triple-match point — with an ace.

What was supposed to be an advantage for Raonic turned into a complete liability.

“Just didn’t have that same speed on the serve I needed,” said Raonic, who had 37 aces versus Tiafoe in Round 1 and won 90 per cent of his first-serve points versus Daniel in Round 2. “[I] just needed to be better [serving] and I wasn’t able to be.”

After Raonic beat Daniel on Wednesday, he candidly acknowledged he didn’t really expect to play well in two consecutive matches. After all, this is a guy who missed nearly two years of action with an Achilles ailment. Frustrating as the 32 unforced errors against McDonald were, Raonic said he’s secure in the fact he did all he could to prepare for the NBO and put his best sneaker forward once here.

“I did everything I could and it took me where it did,” a placid and seemingly content Raonic said post-match. “You can’t discredit what two years away from that intensity does.”

Maybe things came to an end a few days before everyone hoped, but the first half of this tournament was defined by the excitement generated by the kid who grew up just down the road in Thornhill, Ont. “Let’s go Mi-los!” chants helped fuel his play during a huge prime-time upset of Tiafoe on Monday and he carried that success over to the straight-sets win versus Daniel two days later. When McDonald crushed his final point of the afternoon to end Raonic’s tournament on Thursday, there was a very brief moment of mourning before the applause picked up and fans let the lone Canadian left in the singles draw know how much they apricated his efforts.

Not surprisingly, the feeling was reciprocated.

“I got the sense of it just through the noise,” said Raonic. “And I think it’s probably the most special and endearing thing about these three matches, from Monday night to yesterday to today, through the ups and downs of it all, that energy that you can’t quantify in any way or you can’t put a name to it. I’m extremely grateful for that. And [with] all the ups and downs over the last months and years, that makes it worth it far and beyond.”

Raonic, a former world No. 3 who made the 2016 Wimbledon final, arrived at this tournament being asked about the possibility of retirement. Maybe that was a bit premature, but there’s no doubt Raonic — playing just his third event since returning from injury in June — had a lot to prove to himself and the tennis community. Two wins by no means indicates the guy who used to compete for Grand Slams is ready to return to the sport’s elite circles, but it’s a clear step in the right direction. Raonic was nowhere close to declaring he’d be back in his hometown again in 2025, when the men will again play in Toronto, but he certainly doesn’t sound like an athlete who is glancing out toward the sunset. The strong showing in Toronto solidified a belief in his mind there are more matches to be won.

“If all things are well, I can get myself in the right position, I can get myself ready to produce a high level of tennis,” Raonic said when asked about takeaways from this tournament. “I think I can still play at a very high level that isn’t very different from where I was — which is crazy to say — years ago now.”

And for the first time in a long while with Raonic, you get the feeling there could still be years ahead.