MADRID: Some of the biggest challenges in Milos Raonic’s career haven’t been his fellow opponents, but his own body.
The first quarter of the season has seen the Canadian troubled by an abductor and hamstring injury. In February his run to the Delray Beach final ended in a withdrawal due to his hamstring problem, which sidelined him from action for a month. Once again on the comeback, the 26-year-old remains as resilient as ever.
“The injuries are ok, everything has calm down. I feel probably a bit more sore than normal after matches and practice because I haven’t been able to spend much time on the court.” Raonic told ubitennis.net. “That’s something that is gradually decreasing and getting better each day.“
Raonic’s confident statement are backed by his recent results. Less than a week after reaching his maiden ATP final on the clay in Istanbul, he disposed of Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4, in his opening match at the Madrid Open. The encouraging win saw the Canadian drop only seven points on his serve throughout the entire match.
“I have to be happy with it. I did a lot of good things, created a lot of good opportunities.” He evaluated. “I didn’t really face any on my service game, I didn’t get behind. I’m very pleased with my first match considering how different the conditions are from last week (in Istanbul).”
A new approach
Tired of all his injury problems, Raonic is relying on a new mentor to turn his fortunes around. The unnamed man from New York, has replaced Raonic’s fitness trainer earlier this year. Unlike other professionals in the sport, he has no experience of working in tennis. What he does have is something that appeals to the world No.6.
“I parted ways with my fitness trainer after Miami and I started working with a gentleman based in New York. He has been directing the entire operation.” He confirmed.
“I felt like I needed to do something different due to the lack of success of staying healthy. I have incredible success on court with fitness and the way I was moving, but it’s not good enough to have success a few times a year.”
It remains to be seen if the risk has paid off. The next test will occur later this week in Madrid, where Raonic faces a third round showdown against David Goffin, a player who has recently defeated Novak Djokovic. A win over him will be Raonic’s first top-10 scalp since January.
“It’s going to be a tough match. He has been playing well from what I have seen. These are conditions that we both like, it’s a little bit a bit quicker.” Said Raonic.
“It’s not going to come down to the court, it’s going to come down to who battles harder.”
Raonic leads Goffin 2-1 in their head-to-head.
