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ROLAND GARROSMay 30, 2014Milos RaonicPARIS, FRANCE M. RAONIC/G. Simon THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please. Q. Congratulations. How does that feel when you're serving twice for the match and the crowd is going absolutely crazy between your serve and the atmosphere is really, really tense? MILOS RAONIC: Unfortunate that I was serving twice for that match (smiling). It could have not been that way. I live and die with my serve, so I'd rather be serving for the match than anything else. I don't think the crowd made more ‑‑I think I just played two tight points and then he played well the first game, and then I feel like he sort of let me get ahead in the second one. That's how I was able to close out. Q. In terms of, you know, confidence and satisfaction, is this one bigger than some others in Grand Slams? MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, it's definitely up there. It's a new territory I'm putting myself in in this tournament, because I was able to fight and get through in important moments and give myself an opportunity to win. Q. Where would you rank that in terms of Grand Slam victories? Most satisfying? MILOS RAONIC: It's up there. I think the first year in Australia my wins, because it was so new to me, meant maybe a little bit more. But general where I am now and where I have been maybe the last two years, probably, yes. Q. What's the difference now when you get into a long rally on clay than a year ago maybe or whatever, in your mind? MILOS RAONIC: Well, the biggest difference is even in the long rallies I always feel I'm either neutral or I'm getting sort of ahead; whereas before the longer the rally went the further back I'd be and the less and less opportunity or possibility there was that I would win that point. Whereas now I feel like I stand still pretty close to the baseline so I still have just equal an opportunity if it's three shots in the rally or ten shots or fifteen. But I don't think I really go more than that. Q. Piatti and Ljubicic are making a great job with you because you are moving better, improving all shots, improving the backhand. I'd like to know if this is comparable the matches you play versus Djokovic in Rome where in my opinion you played really a great, great match on clay. MILOS RAONIC: So the question is just comparing the two matches? Q. Yeah, two matches, and where you are more satisfied the way you played at the end? MILOS RAONIC: Well, obviously here, because there is a lot of factors to take in and I was able to win. But if you ask me which match I played better in, I would say Rome. I gave myself a possibility against a guy that went on to win the tournament, that was playing well, and that's been at the top of tennis since I have been on tour. So that's a very important thing to me. I don't think if I don't go through what I did in Rome, maybe I don't give myself the possibility to win today through the difficult moments. Q. How do you feel about going into the second week? MILOS RAONIC: There's still a lot more work to do, but it's a good thing. But I'm not really overly excited about it. There is a lot more I want to do, so I'm just really focused in the moment. Q. What can you say about Granollers? MILOS RAONIC: Crafty player, can do everything, and I think he made his first fourth‑round here, so he likes to play here. Likes to come to net. Great doubles player, as well. So he can do a lot of different things. Q. He returned your serve really well at the beginning and different periods through the match. At the end it seemed you were on top of him with the serve. Is there anything you did to cause that to happen? MILOS RAONIC: I put more first serves in, and I felt like my serve was a bit predictable for chunks of the match. I think that hurts me. Doesn't matter how hard I serve. The guy knows where I'm going, especially on clay. He's going to have a great opportunity to get it back, and he was getting back and deep. Q. I talked today to Ricardo Piatti, and he told me that after you had Ljubicic as No. 3 in the world, he thinks you have much better potential, and he thinks your goal is to become No. 1. Do you feel that sort of pressure, or is not a pressure, is just, okay, step by step, everybody sees the same thing? Do you feel you could do it or you think, oh, it's a dream? MILOS RAONIC: No, I feel I could do it. I don't think everybody says I could do it, but I believe I can. I don't think that's really any type of pressure, because that's coming from within me. I always say from the day I start till the day I stop tennis it's always going to be playing for myself. Q. I'm doing a story on some top players that are not residing anymore in their own countries, which is your case. You moved to Monaco three years ago. I'd like to know why you took that decision at that time? MILOS RAONIC: A bunch of the tour weeks are in Europe, and I think it's a great base to really have. Now I've constructed a team that two guys live there, a third guy is a two‑hour drive away in Torino, and a fourth guy is an eight‑hour drive away. It's a big part of convenience. Q. How are you feeling physically after that match? As a five‑setter when it seemed like it went by awfully quickly. MILOS RAONIC: I played five sets that wasn't much longer than the semifinal I played in Rome. So I think also the guy who was getting ahead early in the set or who maybe midway through the set was staying ahead, so it was not like the sets were taking too much time. Q. Physically not as taxing as some five‑setters might be on you? MILOS RAONIC: No, definitely not. Q. I have to retract my last question. I was told all the matches finished today, and Granollers isn't finished yet. Can you say a bit about Simon how he played? Crafty guy? He got on the serve for a while? What was it like from his side? MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, I think he plays ‑‑he's obviously a great player. He's done great things, and the things I was able to do today that I have really been working on ‑ staying in closer, taking the ball earlier, sort of imposing quicker, not really getting too far back, playing too high too much ‑ they sort of work for him. I can't play high for five sets, but there is moments I have to. He was dealing with that very well. I gave myself the right opportunities when I was coming to the net. I did not execute well in those situations, but that's what made the difference in the fifth set. So I did the right things when I needed to and it worked out when I needed to. Q. I'd like to know when you did change a little bit your forehand? Because before you were playing very close to your body, and now a little bit farther, I think. Another thing is for ages we have been talking about you in Montenegro, and now everyone talks about you only being Canadian and so on. Your relationship with Montenegro is still very alive. Do you do something for them if they have a problem? Do you help the state somehow or you have no relationship? How happy do you think they are in Montenegro when you win? MILOS RAONIC: Let's go back to the first question. The forehand? Q. Yeah. MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, it's something we have worked on. We have done a lot of video analysis with Ricardo, Ivan, and Pizzorno, so we have made some construction. I don't know if I'm hitting away from myself, but we have cleaned up a few things with my forehand just to be more structurally sound. The second thing, yeah, I do have a strong connection to Montenegro. My family lives there and spends a lot of time there. Not only my immediate family. I have cousins, I have relatives, grandparents, everything, that never really left there. I still visit there every year. It's not just there. If I can help with my name, with my symbol, with my weight anywhere in the world, I would. If there was something to happen there, I would. If there was something to happen in Canada, I would, and so forth. So I do have a home connection there, and I do feel home there when I am there with family because of the people around me. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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