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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIP

June 18, 2016

Milos Raonic

London, England

M. RAONIC/B. Tomic

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Andy Murray says he's not interested at all in the fact that Ivan Lendl will be in one box and John McEnroe will be in another tomorrow. Do you subscribe to that point of view?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, I think it's irrelevant to what I'm pretty sure his objective is, and I know definitely it's irrelevant to what my objective will be tomorrow.

Q. Do you think there is any chance that John would be even happier to win this particular final over any other player?
MILOS RAONIC: Doubtful. I think it's a nice talking point for you guys. I don't think anybody else is really going to discuss it too much in the locker room. I don't think it's going to sway anything the way I go about things tomorrow or the way Andy goes about things.

I think we have a very clear objective ahead of us. I know I have to deal with myself and then I have to deal with Andy. If I can put those things in order I can play some good tennis. I will have my looks.

Q. You seemed pretty comfortable out there today.
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah. I was doing things well. I had my chances. I had good looks. Even at the beginning of the match where maybe I didn't get ahead in his service games, I felt like I was on the right track to get the things going. And then when I found some footing, hit a few extra balls, I feel like it went my way.

Q. How much impact has John been able to have on your grass court game?
MILOS RAONIC: The goal never was on my grass court game. The goal was for him to impact my game, period. It's hard to sort of put a measure on it, but he's definitely helped me with my game and he's actually definitely helped me with the way I have sort of approached things and probably been a bit more positive and energetic on the court. He's tried to make sure that I show my presence out there.

Q. Is it enjoyable to be actually hitting points and done quicker and the way you're forcing the play at the net?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, definitely helps. It's also enjoyable knowing I can do different things in different situations and get myself out of trouble in different ways. Probably yesterday came in a bit more than I did today.

To know I can adjust those things depending on who I'm playing, it's nice to have that sort of in my armor.

Q. If somebody had said to you on day one of the tournament you'll be playing Andy Murray in the final, what would your reply have been?
MILOS RAONIC: That's a good scenario to be in. I guess obviously that's looking ahead very far of things. But I think one day we practiced together. John said, Well, that could be a possible final. Was he predicting something? I don't know. But nobody gave him a magic ball.

But I think I have played some good tennis. I have been watching quite a bit of Andy. He's been playing actually every single day before me. I have gone to watch quite a bit of his tennis. He's been playing well. He's been improving throughout the tournament, as well. I look forward to a big challenge tomorrow.

Q. (Question about Andy's movement on grass.)
MILOS RAONIC: Obviously he's probably one of the guys alongside with Novak that moves the best on the surface, but I think it also helps me in different ways, as well. So I guess it's going to be about who can sort of manipulate those benefits to themselves better.

For me it's going to be about trying to dictate and play on my terms. For him it's going to be trying to take away time from me and trying to make me play as much as possible at least on my service games and sort of keep me moving laterally as much as he can.

Q. Just back on John McEnroe, a few of us talked to John a couple of weeks ago in Paris and he was saying that one thing he wouldn't be doing is working with you on technical things. He said the last thing he's going to do is teach you how to serve. But would it be true to say that it's been mainly tactical stuff that you've worked on with him?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, I think he's mentioned a few technical things, pointers he had for himself that necessarily when he wasn't volleying his best or ways that he would get his game back. He's mentioned those things.

But I don't think there has been a single moment that he's told me, You have to change this on how you take back the racquet and that kind of stuff.

He's definitely helped me on the tactical side, how I play specific points, how to use a score a bit better. But I think the biggest thing is how I can make the other guy feel, what I can do to make the other guy's current situation on court against me as difficult as possible. Not only looking at myself but also sometimes taking a glance to the other side of the net.

Q. During your conversations with John in the last week here, has he at all mentioned the words "Ivan" and "Lendl"?
MILOS RAONIC: Well, I think the day we were going to practice with Andy, we were -- I think that was supposed to be the first day Ivan was here. So first we were going to keep it quiet just to see what John's reaction was about it.

But we told him and he's like -- I think he thought it's a good fit for Andy. I'm sure John commentated many of Andy's matches when Andy was working with Ivan. But it hasn't been outside of any casual conversations.

Q. (Question about being a nuisance against opponents.)
MILOS RAONIC: Obviously it's about playing on my terms and keeping Andy off balance as much as possible and having him adjust to me more than I go about adjusting things to him and having him play sort of those not too many long points where he can get in a rhythm and feeling like I can keep moving forward and sort of find my positioning there.

Q. How does he rate as a passer?
MILOS RAONIC: I think he's one of the best there is. He can do pretty much everything when it comes to passing. You definitely have to be sharp out there and you have to be maybe more selective on what you come in with.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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