A Day to Recover « Milos Raonic

14Mar/11Off

A Day to Recover

Similar to the Major tournaments, players at the BNP Paribas Open have a day off between matches. In this article, Milos Raonic does not shy away from saying he could really use the extra day to recover before his next match:

Canadian Milos Raonic, the breakout star from the first two months of the 2011 season, took advantage of his opportunities to knock out 2008 finalist and World No. 15 Mardy Fish 7-5, 6-4. He fought off eight break points, including three in the final game, and capitalized on all three of his chances.

The 20 year old, who received treatment for a back muscle spasm during the match, said: “I'm hungry for the wins. I want to win as much as possible. I want to reach new limits. I want to keep improving. By winning today, especially here with a day in between, it's a good thing. I have a chance to recover fully and sort of treat and now come back in two days sort of hoping to play better, hoping to serve better, and hoping to feel better.”

Raonic defeated a Top 25 player for the sixth time this season, including four Top 15 wins. He also beat a 17th-ranked Fish last month in the Memphis semi-finals.

Hopefully the back muscle spasm won't be a lingering problem and Raonic will be able to recover enough to get his serve back on track. The serve was less of a weapon against Fish last night, who was able to earn 8 break points during the match. Raonic saved them all, but if Fish had been able to convert one or two the match may not have gone Raonic's way.

In his post match interview on court, Milos was asked if he was surprised by all of his recent success. He succinctly answered, "Yes" - at which point the audience erupted in laughter. It was a funny moment, but the short reply suggested that Raonic just wanted to get off the court and start the recovery process before his next match.

Read the full interview here, and check out this Public Service Announcement about Milos Raonic, in song form.

-multi