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LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMESJuly 31, 2012Milos RaonicLONDON, ENGLAND J. TSONGA/M. Raonic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Can you take us through that match and how it felt, how it feels now. MILOS RAONIC: I don't think I can say too much about it now. I think everything has been a pretty big rush. So throughout the match, it was okay. I was a little bit disappointed with the way I started the first three games, but after I felt like I was playing the better tennis for most of the match until probably really late in the third set. Then he was sort of creeping past me. I created a lot of opportunities for myself. So it was a little bit unfortunate I didn't make the most of them. There's a lot of good things to take, there's a lot of learning things to take from this. Q. What learning things? Do you think you grew today? MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, I think I feel like with the last few matches maybe I had with Roger and now against him, up against a few different players on pretty big stages, either Masters Series and whatnot, I've been sort of knocking on the door. Hopefully next time around I can sort of kick it down and make the most of it, really try and sort of find my way through this. I think if I can get through one of these, I think it just opens up a lot more doors. Q. You had to hold serve to stay in the match over and over. Does that get tense? As good as your serve is, does it start to rest on your shoulders? MILOS RAONIC: Maybe the last few games when I was struggling a little bit. But the rest of the match it was okay. Q. The last game, the net cord, how much of a difference do you think that made in this match? MILOS RAONIC: I think it was a pretty good passing shot if it goes over clean. If it goes in the net, I'm a much happier person. So it's fortune. There's a lot of things throughout a match, whether it be through a net cord, or whether it be hitting the line with 3% of the ball. There's a lot of fortune and luck that goes throughout a match. That one point I don't think changed the match, but I think the match did come down to maybe one or two, three more points. Q. Obviously to create records you need two people in a tennis match. Certainly you were not on the winning end today. But creating two Olympic records in this match, what does something like that mean to you? MILOS RAONIC: I know the longest match. Q. The longest set and the longest three‑set match. MILOS RAONIC: So I'm on the wrong side of both of those (smiling). Q. Unfortunately, you are. MILOS RAONIC: No, it's good. Maybe next time I will sort of ask my opponent, Do you want to play a long match, and let's take it seriously from 26‑26 so I can get on the right side of things maybe (smiling). Q. How did you handle the frustration in the first two sets when you had a lot of break opportunities and weren't able to take advantage? Then take me through the rain delay. How do you think that affected it? MILOS RAONIC: First thing about all the breakpoints. It's a little bit frustrating, but I don't think it's only just the breakpoints that were a little bit frustrating. I felt like I was getting ahead in a lot of games, a lot of 15‑30s, chances to maybe create a little bit more, a lot of deuce points that I felt like I had a good shot at hitting, just made little critical mistakes where I felt I was ahead in the point. So I don't think it was so much frustrating because I didn't feel like these opportunities were coming by luck. I felt like I was playing well. I felt like a lot more would come. So I think that helped me stay calm. Whereas if I was getting nowhere on his serve, one or two games I get chances, maybe it would be a bit more frustrating because I'd feel a little bit more panic. But I felt like I was playing well, so there wasn't so much frustration. Quite a few of them, he really took away my opportunities during the points. He just played too well. I didn't really have a chance to do anything. So that's as far as that goes. As far as the rain delay goes, I don't know if the match would be as long. I don't know if it would be longer if there's no rain delay. The rain delay was quite relaxed. I felt like I was on the right side of things when I went into it. So there wasn't much talking. I went back and forth, because I felt like I was doing a lot of things well. I felt like I was getting ahead of him. It was just a little bit of a rest, a shower, and sit around and wait. Q. The match was almost seven hours from start to finish. How would you describe the match, if asked? MILOS RAONIC: I think pretty high quality. I think we both played well. So I think high quality. I think competitive in the sense that there would be certain parts in the match where we both struggled a bit. We put that aside, make the most of it. It doesn't go that long without competing well. I don't know. I don't think any other way to describe it. But I think there was a good quality of tennis there. Q. As an athlete, your body is ready to play a really long match. When you get involved in a set like that, relentless, how do you cope with that? MILOS RAONIC: I think more so the mental side just weighs down the body fatigue just because of the fact that you feel like you go through so many opportunities, you feel like you're so close, yet you feel so far at the same time. And then when it starts going the other way, probably like it did at 15‑All, he started getting ahead of me, you don't play as clean, you doubt a little bit more because you feel your opportunity slipped away, now he's getting ahead. You maybe wish you did a few things maybe not differently, but you wish you could have converted a little bit earlier. I think it's more mentally, it just sort of makes your legs feel a little bit heavier. But I think as far as physical fatigue goes, I don't think there's really an issue for him to be able to come back tomorrow, or there would be for myself. Q. You talk about how you've been knocking on the door, getting closer. Where do you think the difference is? How much closer do you think you maybe came today? MILOS RAONIC: I think the difference is just going to come down to how I deal with the big points. I think playing Roger, not in Halle, but in Madrid, I had a lot of breakpoints. Didn't convert. Here I had quite a few breakpoints, especially I think I had three early in the set, then one a bit later, in the third, didn't convert. I think it just comes down to one point. I don't think I would have an issue if I had the opportunity to serve it out. I don't think that would really be too much of an issue for me. Q. Do you feel like you got closer today? MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, no, just trying to take as much from it. I think going into it next time I'll be better equipped. The question is how much. Will it be next time that it really changes for me or will it be the time after that? I don't know. It's sport. A lot of things can happen. There's a lot of variables. I just try to focus on the things I can control, which is myself. I can't control if he or whoever I play next time hits an ace if I'm down breakpoint. I can't do anything about that. But I can control creating those opportunities for myself, like I'm doing more and more each time I get around. It's not maybe just the first time against Roger, I don't think I had one break chance really. I created a lot more opportunities the second and third time, and now this time. So I'm not sort of hanging by a thread in the matches. I feel like I'm getting ahead and I'm feeling very comfortable throughout the matches. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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