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STUTTGART

After being forced to withdraw prior to his semifinal showdown with Félix Auger-Aliassime in Stuttgart just four days ago, Milos Raonic made an emphatic return to the court on Wednesday.

The 28 year old from Thornhill was dominant in his return – defeating Marco Cecchinato in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the Fever-Tree Championships. The match took just 69 minutes.

Raonic was his usual self, dominating on his service games. The Maple Leaf Missile notched 12 aces and won 88% of his first-serve points in the opening set. To close it out, Raonic scored a break and then held serve by securing eight of the first set’s last 10 points.

Then, in the second set, it was more of the same from the Canadian. On top of the 12 aces he recorded in the set, Milos won 12 of 13 first-serve points and converted two of his six break point opportunities to win handily.

His latest triumph against Cecchinato improves his record to a perfect 4-0 against the Italian. He also technically remains unbeaten on grass this season, having won his first three matches in Stuttgart before being forced to withdraw.

Raonic is playing in just his second tournament since a knee injury in March sidelined him up until last week’s Mercedes Cup. He’ll look to continue to work his way back to the court when he faces Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene in the second round of the Queen’s Club Championships.

Meanwhile, Félix will have to wait another day to start his campaign at the Fever-Tree Championships. His opening-round match against Grigor Dimitrov has been postponed for the second day in a row and is now scheduled to take place on Thursday. Auger-Aliassime will be playing in his first match since losing in the Mercedes Cup final to Mateo Berrettini. It marked the third final of the season for the Canadian teenager, who became the youngest player to reach SFs on three or more surfaces in a season since Lleyton Hewitt in 1999.

Denis falls to Delpo in opening round

Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour

Despite moments of brilliance from Denis Shapovalov on Wednesday, he lost his first-round match at Queen’s Club against the No.3-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 5-7, 4-6.

The Canadian did all he could to try and topple the Argentinian, but Del Potro was in fine form on Wednesday. The No. 12 ranked player in the world was dominant on his serve – knocking 11 aces and putting in play 72% of his first serves. Through this barrage from Delpo, Denis did his best to fight back. Facing set point in the opening set, the 20 year old somehow managed to win the point thanks to this ridiculous volley.

Shapovalov also produced 27 winners, eight more than his Argentinian counterpart. The majority of those winners came from his forehand – which also produced some of the best points of the match.

(Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour)

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