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ROGERS CUP

July 28, 2016

Milos Raonic

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

M. RAONIC/J. Donaldson

6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. If you played this match two years ago, would it have been the same result? Would you have been as confident and played as well?
MILOS RAONIC: Ah, I don't know. That's a heavy question. There's a lot of factors.

Q. (Off microphone.)
MILOS RAONIC: You normally ask the sarcastic questions, Tom. (Laughter.)

I don't know if it would have been. I believe I would have found a way to win.

Q. You had a very competent - same as last night - performance tonight.
MILOS RAONIC: No, I am doing things well. I'm taking care of my own things, creating some opportunities. And, you know, I'm going for the shots. I'm taking time away from the other guy, making the guy, from what I can tell, the other side of the net, uncomfortable, not giving him too much rhythm. That always helps me.

Q. Was there much worry this wouldn't carry over from Wimbledon?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, I was struggling a few days before this tournament, just because, you know, not necessarily sure you can't come in on the same kind of shots and finding that rhythm. I was fortunate to start quite well yesterday, and it gave me some comfort leading into today, as well, knowing that I was able to start the tournament well.

Q. What do you have to do tomorrow to beat Monfils?
MILOS RAONIC: I've got to play well. I have to dictate. I have been able to get the better of him twice this year because I was controlling the court and taking time away from him coming forward.

He can do a lot of things. He can make you play a lot of balls. If you sort of take the time away from him then you make it difficult on him. I'm going to have to continue doing that.

Q. Tonight your serve was sharp just immediately. I think you hit 235 on your very first shot of the day. What did you do to have it already in peak form to start the match?
MILOS RAONIC: Well, it's that way always. And just because I saw that he was going to return from close. I went a little bit harder into the body just to try to make him think about it, hopefully make him step back to open up the angles for myself more.

But I don't think it was any different today than any other day.

Q. I don't know if you saw much of Denis last night or on Monday night, but is there a bit of a caution thing here, because everybody is so high on him? Very promising player. But sort of what should the approach and the expectations of him be?
MILOS RAONIC: I think he can have a very bright future. Like I said last night, he's much further along than I was at his age. He has much more capacity than I had at that age. So he's figured it out quicker than I have.

But at the same time, just because of this one week, doesn't mean it necessarily carries through. He's going to have to put in a lot of hard work. But at the same time, I think he has been doing that. I think he has the right people around him to continue doing that.

Just because it happened for him that he played well this week and had a good win and had a good showing yesterday, as well, doesn't mean it just automatically happens. You still have to continue working on that whole process.

Q. A few years ago people would maybe say that your biggest weapon was your serve. But lately you've been improving your return game a lot. Was there a motivation for you to always improve that so that you're not seen as a one-dimensional player?
MILOS RAONIC: The only motivation for me was to improve what I need to improve to win. It was never for anybody else's opinion and these kind of things. It was to work on these things that I believe could help me win. Obviously the return has been a big part of it.

Q. The actual conditions and the court? How was it playing?
MILOS RAONIC: It's quick. I don't know if it's after coming from clay and this kind of stuff, but I know that during the days I practiced here it was bouncing quite a bit, and the balls are going through the court quite a bit. But that's considering that Wimbledon is much slower than it used to be, obviously coming from many weeks of clay. It's hard to really tell because I don't have a recent reference on hard courts.

Q. A bit random, but I heard that Toronto has some of the best food on the tour.
MILOS RAONIC: Yes.

Q. Can you just give us an assessment of what the food it like here?
MILOS RAONIC: Well, it's great food I think because of the diversity you have. So you have every aspect of food. My eating habits aren't the best here, so normally when I come out here I have time off so I can tell you where the good chicken wings are.

I tend to eat at home, but there are some really good restaurants in the city and that get really applauded for their great service and great food.

I'm just in hotels and restaurants so often that I try and stay at home here.

Q. Do you eat at the tour, the tournament?
MILOS RAONIC: Oh, you mean...

Q. The tournament, yeah.
MILOS RAONIC: No. I prepare -- I have my own food prepared and I eat my own specific things.

Q. You have been asked a hundred times over about what this tournament means for you, but just to get a feel for -- you're very close here. How important is this for you to come away with a win here one day?
MILOS RAONIC: It's definitely one of the more significant achievements I'd like to reach. It definitely has not only, it being this tournament, but it has a sentimental value through my childhood and this being the only tournament I attended as a spectator.

So there is a lot of different sort of folds and wrinkles to the whole story line there. Hopefully I can make it count this time around, and it's what I'm training for. My focus is not anywhere, any further along to any other tournaments coming up other than this tournament at this moment.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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