Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori make winning returns after extended absence

Raonic - a former world number three - has been plagued by a series of injuries that have seen him out of the sport for two years. The injury spell included a calf tear and spell with Covid, which led to an entire 12-month period when he didn't even touch a tennis racket.

But the Canadian is now mended, physically, and has goals to reach the grand slams once again. In an emotional return, Raonic swept aside world number 39 Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-4 in the opening round of the Libema Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. His serve has always been his most potent weapon and Raonic 2.0 is no different, as he fired 15 aces and won 92% of his first serve points.

"It's nice to be here after almost two years now and stepping away for a long time," said the 32-year-old, as per atptour.com.

"It's nice to be giving it one more try and hopefully going as far as I can. I™ve put in the best effort I could, and I want to see how far it takes me.

"It's been a real pleasure to get to play in front of people. I didn't get to hit a single tennis ball for a full year, now I get to play in front of a bunch of people. It was pretty nerve-wracking, I forgot that feeling. To be honest with you it might have been a little bit easier if I played in front of nobody today.

"I didn't just want to come back and to be a player that I wouldn™t be proud of, so it took a lot of energy for me to put in. I'm happy I got to here and am very grateful that I can play."

It's also no coincidence that Raonic made his return on grass. The Yogoslavian-born player has high hopes of returning to the scene of his only grand slam final appearance: the hallowed courts of Wimbledon.

"It was very intentional [to come back on grass]," said the 2016 finalist

"Wimbledon means the most to me, and I haven't played it since 2019. I'll play it one more time. I don't know what will happen after that, but I'll play it one more time. It's also Toronto this year. I grew up 10 minutes from the stadium, that's another one that's important to me. I like the idea that I'll play those at least one more time."

Also making a successful return after 20 months off the court was Nishikori, albeit at an ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

The former world number four eased past American Christian Langmo 6-2 6-4 in the opening round of the Carribean Open, where he was handed a wildcard entry. Nishikori had arthroscopic surgery on his left hip last year, but the Japanese star has been on the sidelines since October 2021.