Canadian Milos Raonic's injury woes continued Thursday as he was forced to retire from his second-round match against local favourite Yuichi Sugita at the Japan Open.
The former world number three, playing his first tournament since undergoing wrist surgery, lasted just eight minutes of his clash with Sugita. Raonic had looked sharp in battering battered Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday.
But the third seed was forced to call for the trainer during the first game, clutching his right calf.
He eventually threw in the towel, wincing with discomfort and limping despondently off court.
READ: Gasquet cruises into Tokyo quarters
Raonic's misfortune is Marin Cilic's gain, as the Canadian's retirement opens up the draw for the big-serving Croatian, with no seed left in his half.
The highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the draw is Belgium's David Goffin, who ended a wretched run of six defeats in his previous six finals by capturing the Shenzhen Open earlier this month.
Goffin, instrumental in Belgium's run to next month's Davis Cup final, had a scare against Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden, losing the first set before coming through 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1).
The Belgian will meet Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the quarter-final after he eased through his encounter with Taipei's Lu Yen-hsun 6-0, 7-6.
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