Milos Raonic is out of the French Open, the eighth-seeded Canadian losing 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the fourth round in front of new coach John McEnroe.
The 55th-ranked player from Spain is into the quarterfinals of a major for the first time, having never made it past the second round of 18 previous Grand Slam tournaments.
Cool and very cloudy weather appeared to take some bite out of Raonic’s serve. The quarterfinalist at Roland Garros in 2014 and semifinalist at this year’s Australian Open also complained of an aching left hip in his previous match.
Ramos-Vinolas earned the victory with aggressive shot-making and some terrific defensive play. He broke Raonic five times and only lost serve once himself, saving 6 of 7 break points.
“I have no words to explain how I feel,” he said. “It was four years in a row losing in the first round.”
Raonic beckoned over the chair umpire in the last game to inspect a shot that gave Ramos-Vinolas two match points. She ruled it in, pointing out that the ball had nicked the line.
The Spaniard couldn’t capitalize on either of those match points. But he made no mistake with his third match point, earned with an ace served out wide, sealing the win in 2 hours and 20 minutes with a smash.
He celebrated by firing a spare ball into the air in delight.
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