As the first Grand Slam of 2016 approaches, Milos Raonic believes that he is in the right shape to contend for the major titles following his straight sets win over Roger Federer in Brisbane.
The victory in Brisbane was the first time Raonic has beaten the 17-time Grand Slam champion since the 2014 Paris Open. During his champions press conference in Brisbane, the world No.14 said that his performance shows to everybody that he has ‘got his stuff back together’. Last year Raonic experienced a mixed season after being troubled by a series of injuries. Looking ahead to the Australian Open, the Canadian also believes that he is now a serious contender for the major titles.
“Yeah, definitely”. The world No.14 said about being a contender for a Grand Slam title.
“Being able to step up and play great for two weeks, which I believe I can definitely do”.
The 25-year-old is yet to reach the final of a major tournament. His best result was at the 2014 Wimbledon championships when he reached the semifinals before losing to Federer in straight sets.
To compete with the best in the world, Raonic labelled it as a two-step process. The first he said is consistent play for two weeks during a major tournament and the other is the ability to play well for 30 weeks of the season. Speaking about the 30-week goal, Raonic has openly admitted that he isn’t quite near that level yet.
“That’s maybe another step away, but I definitely feel I have it within myself to step up with play great tennis for two weeks”. He candidly admitted.
Raonic has a reputation of being a baseline player, however, this week he has mixed his game up much more. During the final the world No.14 moved to the net 25 times against Federer, winning points in 20 of them. The new approach has given Raonic a new ‘comfort’ in the game.
“I have some new comfort and understanding at the net. I was a lot more persistent” He said.
“I think even sometimes when I came in, it’s not necessarily the best shot to come in on, but knowing that I can somewhat take care of myself up at the net gives some kind of mental comfort”.
Following his triumph in Brisbane Raonic will remain at 14th in the world. There is currently 1785 points separating him from the top ten.
