Raonic defeated by 19-year-old Nakashima in first match since March

Former world No 3 Milos Raonic was knocked out of the Atlanta Open in the second round by rising American Brandon Nakashima in a late-night thriller in his first match since March.

Raonic, the top seed in the event and currently ranked 22nd in the world, was defeated 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(7-4) by Nakashima on Wednesday as the 19-year-old continued his good run of form. The American reached the final of the Mifel Open in Los Cabos last week, where he scored wins over higher-ranked countrymen Sam Querrey and John Isner, and finished runner-up to Cameron Norrie, the third seed in Atlanta this wek.

Raonic’s last event had been the Miami Open in March and the Canadian had seen sidelined since then due to a calf injury. The win moves Nakashima into the quarter-finals where he will meet Australia’s Jordan Thompson, who defeated German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk 7-6(7-4), 6-4.

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In other second round matches on Wednesday, fourth seed Reilly Opelka defeated qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo 7-6, 7-6, and fifth seed Taylor Fritz scored a 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 win over Steve Johnson.

Kyrgios to play third seed Norrie in the second round

Second round play will continue in Atlanta on Thursday. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who delighted his fans with a first-round win over Kevin Anderson, will also be in action as he takes on third seeded Norrie for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Second seed Jannik Sinner, sixth seed John Isner, and seventh seed Benoit Paire will also be in seen in second-round action on Thursday.

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