Sinner Moves Into Rotterdam Open Semifinals After Raonic Retires

Friday, 16 February 2024 at 23:12

byZachary Wimer

This was a pretty complicated matchup for Jannik Sinner, but he didn't have to fight all the way, as Milos Raonic retired from the match in the second set.

The last thing fans want to see when the Canadian plays well is a retirement. Raonic dealt with a lot of injuries in recent years and only came back to the sport last year.

He played a few events and even played well but then ran into some more physical issues. It seems like it's going to be a constant with him because he dealt with it again at the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam.

He won a couple of matches this week to make his way to the quarter-final, where he faced Jannik Sinner. The Italian was pretty solid all week long as well, albeit far from his level in Melbourne.

That clearly showed in this match, as the Italian had some issues against Raonic. It didn't seem like a matchup that would give him a lot of problems, but the 33-year-old actually played him really close.

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Much of that had to do with his serve, which was amazing, but he actually broke back after Sinner took the early lead. He then battled his way to two set points at 5-4 but failed to see it through.

Before that, at 4-3, Raonic took a medical timeout, which indicated some physical issues. Eventually, the match went into a tiebreak, which Sinner played better, and he won the opening set.

After that, they played more games, but at 1-1 in the second set, Raonic elected to retire. It was a little bit expected after he dropped the first set and took the medical timeout, but it's still a terrible development for the Canadian, who just doesn't seem to be able to stay healthy.

He was playing really solid tennis this week, but the body seemed not to be cooperating at all. Hopefully, it's not serious, and he'll be back soon enough. Sinner, on the other hand, will have to prepare for his semifinal match against Tallon Griekspoor, and he'll also have to celebrate his 200th ATP Tour-level victory.