Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, returns a shot to Mackenzie McDonald, of the United States, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in New York. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Frank Franklin II
NEW YORK – Milos Raonic had some flashes of brilliance at the U.S. Open on Monday, but not enough of them to upset seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
The 32-year-old Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., was bounced 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 by Tsitsipas in the opening round of men’s singles action. The match took one hour, 56 minutes to complete.
Raonic had eight aces and 32 winners, but he also had 48 unforced errors and eight double faults. He only won one of three break points.
Tsitsipas had seven aces, 24 winners and 10 unforced errors.
Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal played for more than three hours but lost his opening-round match to American Mackenzie McDonald 6-7, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
Auger-Aliassime, who only recently started to feel healthier after a rash of injuries undermined his season, was unfortunate not to win the first set. In the third set his team opted for match management after he fell behind, but the strategy didn’t work out as Mackenzie eliminated the Canadian in the fourth set.
Auger-Aliassime finished with 13 aces, 11 double faults 39 winners and 52 unforced errors.
On Tuesday, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., will start her U.S. Open singles journey against 22nd-ranked Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, while Rebecca Marino of Vancouver will play Patricia Tig of Romania.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2023.
