Canadian Milos Raonic made a successful return to the court, kicking off the grass-court season Monday with an upset of fifth-seeded Miomir Kecmanovic at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Sidelined since July 2021 with a series of injuries, Raonic fired 15 aces and won 92 percent of the points on his first serve (34 of 37) to defeat the Serbian 6-3, 6-4 in 85 minutes.
No. 8 seed Maxime Cressy also suffered an early exit, falling 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the first round to Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland. No. 7 Ugo Humbert of France was a 6-4, 6-2 winner against Australian Jason Kubler, and lucky loser Rinky Hijikata of Australia rallied to beat Dutchman Gijs Brouwer 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2.
Boss Open
No. 6 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy saved all five break points and defeated Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the opening round in Stuttgart, Germany.
No. 7 seed Matteo Berrettini was not as fortunate, losing to fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-1, 6-2 in 71 minutes.
France’s Richard Gasquet ousted Christopher Eubanks 7-6 (2), 6-4. Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic outlasted Marcos Giron 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki defeated Spain’s Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (5), 6-3.
–Field Level Media