Rogers Cup 2017: Raonic ousted; Nadal wins with ease

Rudi Schuller

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Rogers Cup 2017: Raonic ousted; Nadal wins with ease image

Milos Raonic's struggles at the Rogers Cup continued on Wednesday, as the World No. 10 was upset by France's Adrian Mannarino in straight sets.

Raonic extended his run of being upset by a lower seed at the Canadian tournament to four straight years, as Mannarino took the Round of 32 contest 6-4, 6-4.

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Playing with an injured left wrist, the Canadian got off to a sluggish start and allowed Mannarino to push the pace of the game. The Frenchman jumped out to an early 3-1 lead before Raonic was able to briefly assert himself into the match, but Mannarino's hot start was enough to pace the underdog to an opening set victory.

It didn't help matters that Raonic didn't have a single ace in the first set. The Canadian is known for his power, but his usual strong serve just wasn't present on Wednesday and Raonic didn't get an ace until the second set.

It was more of the same in the second set, with Mannarino looking more like the favourite against the top-ranked Canadian. With his power gone missing, Raonic spent much of the match trying to keep up with his energetic opponent, but it simply wasn't his night in Montreal.

Raonic will have to wait until next year, when the tournament shifts to his home turf in Toronto, to try to break his personal Rogers Cup curse. 

Rafa runs rampant

As the top seed at the tournament, Rafael Nadal is expected to ease through the early rounds.

The World No. 2 stuck to the script in his opening match on Wednesday, cruising past Croatian Borna Coric 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the Round of 16.

Nadal's class was on display early, and he highlighted the first set with a strong forehand game that Coric couldn't handle.

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The Spaniard won the first set in a half hour, and claimed the second set in similarly quick fashion. It was as routine a victory as the 31-year-old could have hoped for.

Nadal will face Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov on Thursday.

Rudi Schuller