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Raonic misses shot at Federer


 

Originally published on: 04/05/11 10:57

Milos Raonic missed out on the chance to do battle with Roger Federer for the first time after losing in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open in the Spanish capital.

The 20-year-old Canadian lost 4-6 7-6 6-4 to Feliciano Lopez to fall to just his second opening round defeat in nine ATP main draw appearances this year.

Ranked at a career-high No.25 in the world after beginning the year at No.156, Raonic, who is based in Barcelona, had hoped to build on positive spell of form on red clay, having reached the last sixteen in both Monte Carlo and Barcelona before reaching the semi-finals in Estoril.

Raonic had to retire with a back injury midway through his third meeting with Fernando Verdasco in 2010 in Portugal, and while he looked to have recovered his fitness after firing 23 aces and winning 82 per cent of first serves against Lopez, he edged out in the final set by the 29-year-old.

Elsewhere in Madrid, Andy Roddick was defeated in his first match since losing his opener at the Sony Ericsson Open. Never a fan of the red stuff, the world No.12 went down 6-4 6-7(9) 6-3 to Italian qualifier Flavio Cipolla.

“There was a lot of frustration,” admitted the 28-year-old after his defeat. “It wasn’t a ball-striking thing, it was just a movement thing. The part where I was terrible tonight was moving forward and winning some of those awkward points.

“And once it became a battle of movement his was a lot better than mine on this stuff (clay).”

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.