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WIMBLEDON

July 2, 2016

Milos Raonic

London, England

M. RAONIC/J. Sock
7‑6, 6‑4, 7‑6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Seemed almost like a heavyweight bout with the two serves going back and forth. Were you enjoying that?
MILOS RAONIC: Obviously you want a few more looks on his serve. I think I created quite a few there towards the third set. Played way too passive on pretty much all of them. One of them he had an incredible forehand cross‑court.
I'm happy with the way I was able to get it done in three sets and move on and give myself another challenge looking forward.

Q. What were your thoughts when you learned that Djokovic had lost?
MILOS RAONIC: Nothing really changed. It was obviously a surprise. You know where you stand with that, so you push a little harder.

Q. You and Jack Sock have a couple of weapons in common. What do you think you do better than him and have such a good record against him?
MILOS RAONIC: I think I'm a bit more efficient on serving than he is. He has a heavy forehand. But I think the thing that's really made the difference is a little more efficiency on the serve. A lot of tiebreak sets we've played, I think I have a considerably better record when it comes to tiebreaks. I think that's been a positive for me.

Q. You have a completely different matchup next round. What do you need to adjust, if anything?
MILOS RAONIC: I definitely need to be more aggressive. Obviously it's very different. I think I was a bit too passive too often, especially on the important moments. Obviously I'll get more looks on his serve. Sort of find my way in and continue the efficiency on serving.

Q. There's serves and forehands and everything. That little mental edge you have having won so many times over him...
MILOS RAONIC: You definitely try to impose yourself when things aren't going that well. In those tiebreaks, you try to let him know you're there. It's not something that you're oblivious to. It can make a subtle difference, but that subtle difference can be enough.

Q. Can you say what you know about David's game?
MILOS RAONIC: David is very solid. I think the best part of his game is probably his movement. He serves well, returns well, does all these things well. Has a great backhand as well. It's tough to play him because you try to find a way to impose yourself on him. He does a lot of things well.
Hopefully I can take that comfort away from him and play on my terms.

Q. Awhile since you've been on Centre Court. Any adjustment or did it feel better?
MILOS RAONIC: Definitely felt better than when I was there last time. Definitely took me a little bit to get settled there. It's quite a different center court to me than anywhere else, at least meaning‑wise. I'm happy I had the opportunity to play on it. Hopefully I can see that chance rise up in the next few matches as well.

Q. A few times recently you said you got too passive. Why does that happen? Is it difficult to redline the aggressiveness and how do you snap yourself out of it?
MILOS RAONIC: I think, you know, you have three chances on break at that Love‑40 game I had. The first one I was too passive with the backhand. The next one I actually played well, he hit that incredible short forehand cross‑court off a low ball, which in my mind is not a high‑percentage shot, but he came up with it.
Then there's a few balls, I just hesitated. It was a great return, a short ball, I sort of let it drop, where it could be an easy opportunity to come in. I think I'm winning a considerable percentage of points when I do come in. So just these little things.
I think I always try to make myself aware that everything that's short or there, go forward, don't wait for the ball to come to you. Sometimes it's easier to adjust to; sometimes the legs are a little bit slower than you want them to be. At least I'm aware of it.

Q. Are you getting better at not hesitating or hesitating less because of the repetition?
MILOS RAONIC: Yes. I think that's the thing. I think if you sort of start that way, it's easy to get into it. There wasn't much rhythm throughout the match, which is a good thing for me as well. But when you get those looks, you sort of don't have that rhythm of pouncing on the short ball right away. I think that was an aspect to it, as well.

Q. Novak has taken up so much air and space the last year and a half, two years of the game. Can you speak to what he's achieved. Does the tournament feel different overall with him out of the picture?
MILOS RAONIC: Probably it will, but not significantly. You still have great champions that are in the tournament. You have Andy that's won this tournament. You have Roger that's won it I believe seven or eight times, seven times, been here in the finals ten times. There's these marquee players that are still there.
Obviously everybody would like to have that storyline of waiting for Novak to be the first guy to win the first three slams of the year since Rod Laver. He's the first guy since Rod to be holding all four slams. There's a storyline to it.
At the end of the day, no player is bigger than the tournament. The tournament goes on. There's people fighting to make a difference for themselves.

Q. Are you aware of where the BBC television booth is? Do you know who was in there today?
MILOS RAONIC: I know John was commentating the match. I'm not aware of where the booth was. I know where it should be. I think some of them have glass that you can't see through.

Q. Zverev played today, has to play tomorrow, maybe Monday. You're on a normal schedule. You got delayed once.
MILOS RAONIC: Got delayed twice. The Seppi match got canceled the first time and then this one got canceled yesterday.
Yes, you appreciate those things. Obviously it's difficult what he's having to go through. But I'm sure it's going to make him stronger. I'm sure he'll be in that scenario where he's a top player and that's not really as much of a concern.

Q. You said you want to be more aggressive, not too passive. Is that the thing John McEnroe repeats to you every day?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, pretty much. I think it's about taking time away from the guy, making the guy feel uncomfortable and playing on my terms. When I'm on my terms, it's dictating and being aggressive. I'm by no means a counter‑puncher and that's not how I'm going to succeed.

Q. Did you get a chance to speak with John before the match?
MILOS RAONIC: We spoke about it two days ago, obviously because I was looking to play yesterday. Yeah, we had a discussion about the match.
When we talk, obviously we adjust a few things to the guy I'm playing. But it's very internal discussions on what I need to do. When I do those things, the kind of looks I'll get, how to manage those situations as well as possible.

Q. What part of your game today are you most proud of?
MILOS RAONIC: I stepped up when I needed to. There wasn't a lot of pretty tennis out there, some hesitation, too passive. But I got it done, and I got it done in three sets. That makes a difference down the road.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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