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ROGERS CUP MENAugust 7, 2012Milos RaonicTORONTO, ONTARIO M. RAONIC/V. Troicki THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. With all the success you've had the last couple years, is it hard to believe for you that tonight was your first singles win here at the Rogers Cup? MILOS RAONIC: It's a little bit weird, but knowing what I went through last year, not really. It just makes sense. It's not far‑fetched. Q. How does it feel now that you've got it in front of your home crowd? MILOS RAONIC: It feels good. I'm proud with the way I competed, with the way I played. I did a lot of important things well, and I have some space for improvement for my next match. Q. It looked like you had some fun out there. Can you talk about just getting past maybe the first little bit of nerves early on and just being able to settle in and take some of the pressure off? MILOS RAONIC: I don't think there was really too much nerves. Maybe one ball I maybe overran a little bit and rushed through the point. But other than that, sort of came out and was pretty fluid and relaxed throughout the match from the beginning to the end. I got a little bit sloppy and a little bit maybe trying to force a little bit too much in the last few return games on his serve. I was making some sloppy errors and giving away too many points at that point. Q. You did say it was important to you to treat this like any other match and just go in with the same preparation. How much of a challenge was it to do that? MILOS RAONIC: Not too much. Obviously it's a little bit different when you got on the court, but before the match I really didn't change anything the way I would normally. Q. You mentioned you did important things well. Serving is quite obvious. What did you do beyond that that you thought was important that you did well? MILOS RAONIC: I converted the opportunities I created on his serve. I was effective there. Then obviously taking care of my serve. I felt like considering the whole situation maybe being a little bit tight and everything, I felt like I was moving my legs well. So that helps it all get out, and that is why I felt that I wasn't playing tight throughout the match. I got my legs going underneath me and felt like I was moving well. Q. Are you trying to get to the point where your serve isn't the first point of every conversations everyone has about your game? MILOS RAONIC: I think that is already: Q. I mean, your serve is. Are you looking to maybe evolve to the point it's not the only thing people are maybe referring to about your game? MILOS RAONIC: I hope so. That's definitely the plan. That's what I am going to need to do if I am going to achieve the things I want to achieve. But no matter what, my serve is going to my best part, and probably be the first thing that comes out of people's minds and out of their mouths when they sort of come to describe me. Maybe at one point people will get sick of talking about it and I'll be doing something else well. Q. Talk about your Olympic experience, what it was like to stay in the Village and what you did while you were there when you weren't on court. MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, as far as Olympics goes, it was a really good experience. The best part was being around other athletes. Didn't get to stay that many days during the competition. I stayed a few days before and the morning after the ceremony, and I left and was staying close to Wimbledon and came back for two more. I think it was a pretty amazing feeling. Wasn't too much really to do. There was a game room, a game center. You go there, you meet other athletes, and you play. I was spending a lot of time with other Canadian athletes. I went and I actually even met the Montenegrin athletes, Serbian athletes, everybody sort of. I think this was I think the most, let's say enticing and most exciting part about the whole experience is the feeling of being surrounded by so much greatness. Q. After the match with Tsonga, you said that you learned a lot about yourself and you did a lot of things well. Was there anything from that match that you think you improved on tonight? MILOS RAONIC: I think I was more effective on the return of serve, the break points that I created. Other than that, tonight I did a lot of things well and I wasn't in too really many pressure moments. I felt like I wasn't making too many sloppy mistakes and I was able to justreally ‑‑ so I didn't get to really, let's say, exercise any of the new things that I learned from that match. Q. I know it's early, but the possibility of facing Andy Murray next, has that kind of went through your mind at all? MILOS RAONIC: Not really too much yet. I played him earlier this year. I know if I play well I'll have my opportunities. Q. Was there any sense of relief just to get this one over with and out of the way and move on to the next round? MILOS RAONIC: I don't think it's‑‑ there was one point of relief at the end of the second set just because I was getting a little sloppy with my return game and just really to be able to hold it and not have to come back and sort of regroup on that part. So I think that was a bit of a relief. But I don't think the whole ‑‑ just getting this match out of the way, I don't think of it that way, as a relief. Q. And now you have to play doubles tomorrow with Viktor. MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, it's a good friend, he's a really nice guy, and I enjoy playing with him. I look forward to it. Q. You mentioned some of the athletes that you talked to in the Olympics. Have you had a chance to talk to Rosie MacLennan? Just wanted to get your thoughts on her gold medal. MILOS RAONIC: I haven't had a chance really to talk to her. I've seen what's been said on TV and so forth, so I know what you guys really put out there in front of me. I think it's pretty amazing. I think there is a lot of events. I think there are a few maybe that Olympics is not one of the big, glamourous events for us throughout the year or throughout the four years, but for those people it is and those events it is. I think it's pretty special to really be able to come out that one peak moment and that one biggest moment that you look forward to for four years, which is a long time in anybody's lives. It can be a big chunk out of somebody's career depending on which sport they're in. To be able to perform your best and achieve what you've been waiting for four years or how many ever it may be is pretty special. I don't think ‑‑ it's a big weight off your shoulders, it's a relief, and I can't describe it. She can for sure better than I can. But I think she's over the moon with those feelings. Q. You've got the doubles with Victor tomorrow. How easy is it going to be to smooth things over before that match? MILOS RAONIC: We're friends. Doesn't matter who it is. If we don't play tomorrow, if we do play tomorrow, if we play in ten weeks, ten minutes. If we had to play right now, it would be fine to play right now. Q. When you travel to different countries and are not playing, do you have a particular focus or interest that you participate in in the different cities you might travel to? MILOS RAONIC: I try to experience something new. Depends what interests me specifically. I like to see things, but I'm not going to go and stare at the Eiffel Tower endlessly for hours. I'll see it, I'll walk in front of it, I'll take a few pictures, climb up it, climb down. That's good enough for me. There are other things. For example, I think the one most amazing one was in Johannesburg getting to go to the safari and getting to hold the baby tigers and this kind of stuff. Something unique like this is pretty amazing, and I try to do those when I can. Q. Is there a result this week that you could leave with satisfied, other than winning? MILOS RAONIC: No. (Smiling.) I don't get satisfied until I'm achieving a lot. I expect a lot from myself, and I'm going to push myself to achieve that. When I get satisfied, I think my career is going to be in trouble. Q. Is that especially the case this week given the tournament? MILOS RAONIC: Any tournament. Any tournament I'm going to push myself. I'm going to give it everything I have. Doesn't matter how much pain or anything I may ever be in, if it's the smart choice, I'm going to try to win and push myself as far as I can. Q. We've had a couple guys talk about the challenge of transitioning from grass to hard court in such a short time frame. Was there any of that tonight? MILOS RAONIC: No. I grew up on hard court, so coming back here, coming back on hard courts, is a relief. It's sort of happiness for me. It's easy for me to play on. Q. Which part of your game you believe still needs maybe some improvement? MILOS RAONIC: Every part, from the serve to obviously returning. Not just specifically the returns, but more so how I construct the points after the returns. Being able to get out of the defensive on the return games into an aggressive position a bit quicker. That's the thing that would probably make the biggest difference in my results. Q. You were talking about technique. What about strategy? MILOS RAONIC: It's pretty much a strategy. It's being able to convert from being in a defensive position to getting ahead in the point so I can dictate and control the pace of the point, making that transition a bit more effective. In the serve game I normally get ahead with my serve and I stay ahead throughout the point; whereas in the return game, pretty much everybody starts in defensive or neutral. Just being able to transition that into an aggressive state is the goal. Q. So how far you think you can go? MILOS RAONIC: With what? Q. With the results of your game. MILOS RAONIC: I hope I can be the best in the world. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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