MELBOURNE, Australia — Canada's Milos Raonic fought through the pain of an adductor injury during his run to the title at the recent Brisbane International.
A flareup of the problem proved to be too much to overcome on a much bigger stage Friday.
Raonic missed a chance to become the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam men's singles final as he dropped a 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2 decision to Andy Murray at the Australian Open. The 25-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., said he started having difficulty pushing off his right leg midway through the third set.
Raonic managed to take the tiebreaker before fading over the final two sets in a match that lasted just over four hours.
"It's unfortunate ... probably the most heartbroken I've felt on court, but that's what it is," Raonic said. "I was going to play and try to do whatever I could."
Murray, the No. 2 seed from Scotland, will face Serbia's Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final.
With a 2-1 lead in the fourth set, Raonic needed off-court treatment for his leg. When he returned, his power game was weakened and errors mounted as the clock moved towards midnight at the Rod Laver Arena.
Raonic had been hoping to join Eugenie Bouchard in the rarefied circle of Canadians who've reached Grand Slam singles finals — Bouchard did it at Wimbledon in 2014. Montreal native Greg Rusedski reached the U.S. Open final in 1997 but he was representing Great Britain at the time.
Raonic fell to Roger Federer at Wimbledon two years ago in his only other Grand Slam semifinal appearance. The Canadian beat the veteran Swiss star in the Brisbane final this month for his eighth career ATP Tour title.
Raonic said the adductor problem bothered him a little bit in Brisbane but it wasn't an issue in Melbourne until the semifinal.
The No. 13 seed used his massive serve to good effect throughout much of the match, firing 23 aces. Raonic finished with 78 unforced errors, 50 more than Murray, but also hit 72 winners to 38 for the two-time major winner.
In an unusual start, the first seven points of the match went against serve, with Raonic breaking at love and then facing triple-break point before holding for a 2-0 lead. It was Raonic's only break of the match, with Murray fending off six other break-point chances.
Raonic needed a medical timeout and had his right hip and thigh area massaged by a trainer later in the fourth set.
"I couldn't push off, I couldn't get up to serve, and I couldn't change direction," Raonic said.
After having his serve broken to open the fifth set, Raonic walked back to his chair and broke his racket by smashing it twice on the hardcourt surface.
"That was sort of the whole frustration of everything sort of getting out," said Raonic, who tends not to be demonstrative on court. "I don't think that's like myself to do, but sometimes it's a little bit too much to keep in.
"I was going to fight and see what I could make of it, but it wasn't looking that great."
Murray went on a run of winning 20-of-25 points to go ahead 4-0 and all but clinch the match and a spot in a ninth Grand Slam final. He said he sensed Raonic slowing down, but had to keep his mind on his own side of the court.
Raonic, meanwhile, said he's in no rush to determine the extent of his muscle injury.
"I'm not in the mental state where I would be seeing a doctor to get a recommendation today," he said. "Maybe that happens tomorrow or whenever I feel like I'm ready to face that situation. When that comes, I'll deal with it accordingly."
Canadian Daniel Nestor is scheduled to play in the men's doubles final on Saturday with Czech partner Radek Stepanek.
