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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2017

Milos Raonic

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

M. RAONIC/R. Bautista Agut

7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How would you describe the match, ups and downs, start to finish sort of thing?
MILOS RAONIC: Plenty of them. Yeah, but this was up and down. Most of the match, it was quite inconsistent I think from both of us. I was sort of there on the brink in the end of the third set, then turned it around. Made it really count, I think. After I held off those two breakpoints, I was able to reel off seven games or something along those lines. I was fortunate to get that point because it definitely could have been much longer.

Q. Then 5-1 in the first-set tiebreaker?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, I don't know. I was just disappointed I was there, and then all of a sudden I had a chance.

Q. You were hitting a lot of slice backhands again today, and you had some tough misses with your normal backhand. Any issue with your wrist?
MILOS RAONIC: No. I haven't really been able to hit that much. Obviously not feeling well. But yesterday I hit a little bit. Now I'm continuing to get better and better.

I'll have some time to work on that over the next few days.

Q. Does it surprise you that the two matches where you were really, really, really not feeling well, you actually played some pretty great tennis, and today feeling better, you came out a little bit flatter?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, well, I guess there's always that sort of match where you sort of fall off. It's a long two weeks. So I guess unfortunately that was it for me today. So I'm happy I was able to solve that.

It reminded myself and my team a lot from that match, similar to Goffin in Wimbledon, that kind of stuff. There I was able to recover well from that, make it count after.

Q. Do you remember the last time you smashed a racquet? I remember here last year in the Murray match. It's not a usual occurrence, yeah.
MILOS RAONIC: I think that was the last time, yeah. I don't think today was really a racquet smash. It survived (smiling).

Q. How are you? How has the recovery from the temperature gone?
MILOS RAONIC: I have the energy. Still don't necessarily feel at full capacity. I have energy now. I can go about my days normally. Sort of on the tail end of the recovery. So it's nice.

Q. With Andy going out yesterday, Djokovic also going out earlier in the tournament, do you think about this at all? Do you think the draw has opened up a little bit for you, this is a good opportunity?
MILOS RAONIC: Well, yes and no. At the same time it sort of crosses your mind. But it's very insignificant because there's a lot for me to even get past that point where it would have been to play potentially against those guys. I have some very difficult tasks ahead of me.

I had today was a very difficult one. Next one, whoever it's going to be of the two guys, is going to be a very difficult one. I'm pretty intent on staying in that moment, in that sort of challenge one at a time.

Q. With all the upsets, if Rafa wins, you'll actually play everybody you should have played right up to the semis or the quarters.
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah.

Q. It hasn't really affected you so far, has it?
MILOS RAONIC: I just know who I play next. I don't know who I was supposed to play and this kind of stuff. But I guess it's panned out. We're pretty consistent in our section.

Q. Closing the roof, that break, did you feel any better afterwards? Did it help with your serve?
MILOS RAONIC: You could say it helped, but I didn't think too much about it. I just didn't want to have the scenario where we kept stopping and starting again. Because that was the second time.

So I think that sort of scenario where it disrupts the flow of play is not necessarily the best one. That's why I was just pushing for them to make a decision, either keep it open or not. But we have to be able to play.

They had to be, what I felt, was a little bit more sure what they were expecting to follow.

Q. Were you at all influenced that he had an injury treatment while they closed the roof?
MILOS RAONIC: I didn't think that much of it. Didn't initially ask for it. He only asked for it towards the end when he saw it was going to be a longer break.

I didn't think too much of it. I think he got sort of demotivated, and it sort of took him down. And obviously he's coming off the end of a very difficult and physical match from two days ago, so...

When the emotions go, as well, it can get pretty hard.

Q. You had a big ace total, but how do you feel you served overall?
MILOS RAONIC: I didn't take care of my serve. I don't think I served that great, by any means.

Q. Looking ahead, you might face Rafa next. He's up against Gael. Do you think he has an advantage in that Carlos is now working with him, that he might be able to bring some knowledge about your game to that match?
MILOS RAONIC: Regardless or not, I think he's been having the opportunity to watch me play enough. I've had the opportunity to watch him. Carlos was working with him last week, as well, or two weeks ago now.

I don't think that's equivalent. I think it's going to be a fight between me and him if that's the case. That's sort of where it ends.

Q. What do you take from the match in Brisbane to the next one?
MILOS RAONIC: Well, you know, I was there. We both tried to be the aggressors early on. I fought through a difficult moment midway through that second set. Then I thought I had it pretty handily after that point. I broke towards the end of that second set. Broke right away in the third. Had a lot of Love-30 games. Had a lot of break chances following after that, holding quite easy.

I found that tipping, sort of turning point, that I was looking for in that match. Obviously it's very within me to find those solutions again, I believe.

Q. Are you confident you will be physically back to 100% for this match?
MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, I believe so. With the way things are going, getting better and better. I can't imagine myself struggling in 48 hours or 36 hours, however long.

Q. Any chance it will be on Rod Laver?
MILOS RAONIC: You'd hope so.

Q. How about afternoon or evening or night?
MILOS RAONIC: I don't know what the scenario's going to be.

Q. Make any difference whether it was one or the other?
MILOS RAONIC: Not really, no.

Q. How would you compare getting to the quarters this year and getting to the quarters last year?
MILOS RAONIC: I think obviously barring the sort of medical issues this year, I think I did it with a lot more conviction this year than I did last year, personally as well.

Yeah, I was playing great this time last year, but I didn't know where I was coming from from the year before, ending 2015 with injury.

Coming together now, putting in a great finish to this season last year, playing what I feel is some of my best tennis right now, it's just a different circumstance, but both pretty special.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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