After having to withdraw from Monte Carlo due to a knee injury, Milos Raonic showed no signs of being worse from wear in his return to action on Monday on clay.
About three weeks after Raonic retired prior to the Round of 16 while playing through three injuries, he successfully opened play at the Madrid Open on Monday, defeating Nicolás Kicker in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
While he battled a blister in addition to that knee injury in Monte Carlo, Raonic seemed to be in control on Monday, power 17 aces in his match from serve. Kicker managed just two.
Raonic's power, normally one of his strengths, did not seem to be hindered by anything that was previously ailing him. He won 86-percent of the points off his first serve, and only faced one break point, which he managed to save. Meanwhile, Raonic managed to convert on three of the 11 break points he forced.
¡Con esfuerzo! 🇨🇦 @milosraonic deja sin opción a Kicker (6-3, 6-2) en la Pista Arantxa Sánchez.
— Mutua Madrid Open (@MutuaMadridOpen) May 7, 2018
Resultados ➡️ https://t.co/cV9d8Lg7b7 pic.twitter.com/vpycOfFLiN
It was an ailing knee that forced Raonic to withdraw from his past tournament, a red flag especially because it was the same knee that he had a meniscus injury in late in 2017, forcing him to sit out six weeks.
Apparently what happened at Monte Carlo was related to that injury, though Raonic has since reportedly gotten everything in check.
Raonic told me he has a damaged meniscus since Monte-Carlo but they're managing it so for now it's all under control.
— Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) May 7, 2018
When healthy this season, Raonic has breezed through the early portions of the events he's played. After he lost in the opening round of the Australian Open, Raonic has advanced to at least the Round of 16 in each of the next four tournaments he's played.
The road to that benchmark in Madrid will continue on Tuesday, when Raonic takes on the third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov.
Raonic's countryman Denis Shapovalov will also be in action Tuesday, facing off with Benoît Paire, after Shapovalov defeated Tennys Sandgren in his opening round match on Sunday.