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U.S. OPENAugust 27, 2013Milos RaonicNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK M. RAONIC/T. Fabbiano THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How tough were the conditions out there today generally? MILOS RAONIC: It was okay. A little bit windy, but it wasn't consistent windy, so the conditions were fine. Wasn't too hot. A little bit humid, but not that bad of a day to play. Q. Would you say the serve was the big weapon today? MILOS RAONIC: Yeah. I think I served well. Been focusing on that a little bit, especially after Cincinnati. Beyond that, everything was getting better, but just with matches I think it's going to get better. Q. How close do you think you are now to winning one of these big ones? MILOS RAONIC: I think I can put myself in that position. I just have to make the opportunities and convert them. I think if I play well, I can get very close if not do it. It's still a long ways to go, very long ways to go. Q. Do you have to wait until those top two or three fade a little bit, or do you think you can raise your level to that? MILOS RAONIC: I think I can raise my level with practice, and just gotta keep working hard on a lot of different things. I think I can get better and ‑‑ get much better. Q. Were you a little surprised at how much of a game this guy gave you in his first Grand Slam match? MILOS RAONIC: Not really. I know he's very capable. I remember him from juniors. Very talented always. He was a very good junior. Obviously I haven't seen him play. He got through quallies, so he must be playing well in that situation. I just sort of dealt with it as best I could, and I'm happy with how the result turned out. Q. How much did the serve help today? Maybe a bit more than normal? MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, for sure. It helped me get through a lot of difficult situations. I was struggling definitely from the baseline, but when I sort of needed it I was able to pick it up on both sides. In general, it was a good day. Q. You hit a few very nice backhand down the lines, but on the whole what would you say about your game today? MILOS RAONIC: I wasn't being aggressive enough. I was waiting around a little bit too much. I felt like a lot of the times I was just sort of not keeping the focus in certain parts of the game. I think I lost a little bit on my serve in that second set. I think this is what I was struggling with most, just keeping sort of a straight line of consistency throughout the match. Q. What would you consider to be a good US Open for you this year? MILOS RAONIC: Win my next match and the match after that and match after that. I don't know. It's tough to say. Each match is different with the situations. Who knows what can happen in that match? Somebody can be playing really well, and so can I. It just can go down one or two points. If I'm doing the things well and getting better and developing, I think that will give me the most satisfaction. I think if I do things well I will give myself an opportunity to do things well. Q. Speaking of tough to say, if I could just go back to the situation in Montreal that happened in the quarterfinal. Obviously just sort of happened real quickly. You made some comments afterwards that you wouldn't have approached it differently. Have you had a chance to reflect on it? If that occurred again would you call the... MILOS RAONIC: I already discussed this in Cincinnati, that I would have dealt with it differently. It was my first time in that situation. I spoke with Juan's team and I apologized, and I apologized to him directly, as well. Q. Andujar in the next round. Are you a bit surprised it's not de Bakker, and how do you feel about Andujar? MILOS RAONIC: I think Andujar in that situation was the favorite. He's been playing well the last few years. Started doing well in 2011, just like me, and he's very consistent. He can be aggressive, especially with his forehand, and I've got to play more aggressive than I did today. I've got to clean up a bit off the baseline and hopefully serve like I did today. Q. There are three 22 years olds now in the top 25: You, Jerzy, and Dimitrov. Do you keep an eye on those two? Is there any sense that this is your new peer group rising through the ranks? MILOS RAONIC: I follow a little bit, but nothing more focused on them than anybody else that I would really follow in that top section. I think Jerzy has had a great, what is it, nine, ten months he's been playing great. I think he's definitely the first one of us to break through on a slam and make semis. He's very dangerous in a lot of situations. Grigor everybody knows is immensely talented and immensely capable, and he's doing well figuring that part out. I do follow it, but no specific spotlight on them over anybody else. Q.  To reach your incredible level in this sport, everyone gets a tremendous amount of advice as they emerge. If you could focus on like the one or two best pieces of advice that you've gotten... MILOS RAONIC: I have heard it from many people, but in 2011 I met Sampras for the first time before the US Open. The one thing he told me is, Champions find a way to win even when they're not playing well. Q. How do you think you carried that out since San Jose? MILOS RAONIC: It worked in San Jose three times. But, no, it's something‑‑ especially when things are tough, I really put the focus on just figuring it out and trying to get a win, not trying to play perfectly or well that day. Just trying to get through with a win and give myself an opportunity to get play better in next round. And there have been a lot of situations where that has gotten me through, and then I started playing better one or two days later throughout the tournament instead of being out the first day. I've sort of pushed through to the weekend or so forth. Q. Djokovic bought a tournament in Serbia, as you know, and we're desperate to get a tournament back in the Bay Area where you've kicked butt. Would you consider underwriting a tournament and bringing the tournament back then? MILOS RAONIC: I don't have the financial means like Novak did when he bought that tournament. I think he was already top 3. Q. Maybe in the future? MILOS RAONIC: Who knows? Q. A little bit of ice on the knee. How about the neck? Shoulder? MILOS RAONIC: Shoulder has been good. Ice on the knee is just I hit myself on a follow through with the serve. Q. We do that all the time. How often do you do it? MILOS RAONIC: I don't know, Tom. Q. No, how often? Once a year? Twice a year? MILOS RAONIC: I have done ‑‑no, I have probably done it probably... Let's say once a month, okay? (Laughter). FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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