Canadian Milos Raonic, the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up, on Monday won his first match on tour after a near-two year injury absence in the opening round at ‘s-Hertogenbosch .
The 32-year-old beat 39th-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4 as he returned to competition for the first time since July 2021.
Raonic, a former world No 3, suffered a catalogue of injuries that derailed his career. He hadn’t won a match since the third round of the Miami Masters in March 2021.
The big-serving Raonic will hope to add to his tally of four Wimbledon quarterfinals next month. He faces Jordan Thompson or Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the second round in the Netherlands.
Daniil Medvedev is the tournament’s top seed. The Russian lost in last year’s final by surprise home winner Tim van Rijthoven.
Meanwhile, international men’s tennis will return to Hong Kong in January for the first time in more than 20 years, the ATP Tour said on Monday, and will act as build-up to the Australian Open.
The outdoor hard-court event will be held on 31 December to 7 January and replaces the tournament in Pune, India, which took place this year around the same dates, the men’s ATP Tour said.
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