Milos Raonic upsets Frances Tiafoe in Toronto with 37 aces, in just his fifth match since 2021

WATCH: Raonic completes a comeback win over No. 9 seed Tiafoe in Toronto

A player competing in just his fifth match in two seasons should not threaten a player enjoying a breakthrough year at a career-high ranking. A world No. 545, wearing logo-less black apparel and equally nondescript footwear, should not push a vibrant Top 10er to frustration.

And yet, Milos Raonic, the former Wimbledon finalist on the comeback trail, did more than all that against Frances Tiafoe Monday night at the National Bank Open in Toronto—he beat him.

In a throwback performance under the lights, the 32-year-old Canadian took Tiafoe’s best punches in a marathon opening set before resetting and, service game by service game, slowly chipped away at the American’s lead and confidence.

Losing a 20-minute tiebreaker in the opening set, 14-12, on an unusual (but correct) call should put any player on tilt. We’ll let umpire Fergus Murphy explain what happened:

But the professional that he is, Raonic relied on the shot that has defined his career, his supersonic serve, to ultimately see him past Tiafoe, 6-7 (12), 7-6 (4), 6-3.

The crowd favorite struck 37 aces in all, including one on match point, and never allowed Tiafoe to sustain a prolonged level of momentum. The 25-year-old was unquestionably the better player during rallies, with Raonic donating points with errors throughout the match. But the underdog knew the task at hand: hold serve, and apply pressure on Tiafoe, and he executed it at a very high level.

Commentating for Tennis Channel, Andrea Petkovic commended Tiafoe during the 26-point tiebreaker for “playing percentage tennis.” He was surely getting frustrated as set points were snatched away with one flick of Raonic’s live arm, but forcing Raonic to beat him at his own game was the mission—one that Tiafoe successfully completed in the early going.

But surprisingly, it was the match-light Raonic who overcame the ultra-fit Tiafoe after two hours and 44 minutes. Petkovic’s tune changed by the third set, as she criticized Tiafoe for being unable to make his steadily fatiguing opponent work even harder.

That was just fine for Raonic, who somewhat comfortably handled the third set to the delight of the fans at York University.

“Serving like he did today,” wrote tennis commentator Jose Morgado, “he can still beat almost anybody.”

In other scores of note from Toronto, Gael Monfils outlasted Wimbledon quarterfinalist Chris Eubanks, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (4), 6-1; Matteo Berrettini—like Raonic, a massive server who recently returned from injury—advanced past Gregoire Barrere, 6-4, 6-3; and 2022 runner-up Hubert Hurkacz topped Alexander Bublik, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

On the WTA side of this pseudo-combined event, played in two different cities and provinces, drama reigned on Court 9. There, Jennifer Brady defeated Jelena Ostapenko by the unlikely score of 7-6 (7), 0-6, 7-6 (8). The American, who returned to tour play after extended injury recovery just last week in Washington D.C., saved two match points and rallied from 1-4 down in the decider.

Madison Keys needed nine match points to subdue the ageless Venus Williams—though she earned all of them in the second set of a relatively straightforward 6-3, 7-5 victory.

In other scores in Montreal, Victoria Azarenka won her 187th WTA 1000-level match over Magda Linette, 6-3, 6-0; Sloane Stephens ousted 28th-ranked Anhelina Kalinina, 6-4, 7-6 (2); and Katie Boulter eliminated Canadian Rebecca Marino with ease, 6-3, 6-1.