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Foot pain still an issue as Milos Raonic reaches the Queen's Club quarter-finals
A scary moment late in the second set of Milos Raonic's second-round win over Richard Gasquet at the Aegon Championships in London Wednesday underscored the consequences of playing on the slippery grass, for a player who had foot surgery less than a month ago.
Raonic slid on the side of his right foot – the foot that kept him off the courts for much of the clay-court season – and tumbled to the turf. It brought back memories of his tumble to the turf at Wimbledon against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in 2011, after which he had hip surgery and missed the rest of the summer season.
He winced in pain, but was able to gather himself and, despite losing the second set in a tiebreak, prevailed over Gasquet 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
"It always depends. Some days it's a little bit better than others, and sometimes I feel it on court. Sometimes I feel it when I'm walking barefoot at home. It's very inconsistent. It is sort of an issue that I had with the nerves, so it's really hard to predict," Raonic told reporters in London after the win.
He said he doesn't think about it when he's on court.
"I have grown confident in understanding that it's normal. It's something that is just going to take time to pass. I was given a four‑ to six‑week sort of guideline that it will take to sort of get those discomforts behind me," he said. "Right now I'm at I believe just under four weeks. I'm happy with the way things are going. Once you're playing, you just get very focused in on what you need to do, and you forget other things pretty quick."
Raonic hit 29 aces against Gasquet, along with 24 in his first-round match – also a three-setter – against England's James Ward.
He faces No. 7 seed Gilles Simon of France in the quarter-finals on Friday (he took advantage of the off day to announce a major contract extension with clothing sponsor New Balance).
If he can win that, he would face the winner between unseeded Kevin Anderson (a fellow big server) and unseeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the survivors of a quarter of the draw that originally had Rafael Nadal.
He said his results had exceeded his expectations coming in. "Obviously my serve helps me always, but most of the matches have been won with a lot of time I have been putting on the mental side of my game, in the time off, a lot of attention to this and that's pretty much that's carrying me through."
The Canadian has changed the orthotic in his right shoe to one that's a little stiffer and less comfortable. He's on top of it.
"It's very unpredictable, so pretty much every other day I'm in constant contact with the doctor that did the procedure. I'm in constant care of the physio that I travel with," he said. "So I have the tools around me and I'm using them as much as I can to take care of the issue. Some things are out of my control, and I understand that and I accept it and I try to make the most of it."
