LONDON | Milos Raonic is back to play Wimbledon, where he reached the final in 2016. Then Toronto, in front of family and friends, before heading to the United States Open. And after? “Afterwards, I will have to have a great conversation with myself”, underlines the Canadian “returning”.
But already, that Raonic can sit in an interview room at the All England Club is a feat in itself.
At 32, the Ontarian, a former member of the top 3, had not played a single game until his return to the turf of ‘s-Hertogenbosch three weeks ago. Injuries to the Achilles tendon and then to the foot kept him away from the circuit for almost two years. For 14 months, he was unable to hit a single ball.
In this context, his victory against the Serb Miomir Kecmanovic (then 39e global) shows that the ancient wonder remains a phenomenon, despite the passing years.
Not moved by his return
A phenomenon still as Cartesian as during his “first” career. Because no, despite months of rehabilitation and all the courage it took him to return to the game, Raonic was not moved when he crossed the gate of the All England Club a week ago.
“We enter through a different door than in 2019 [année de sa dernière participation] and after, I went directly to the training grounds. So it was nothing romantic.”
But even if he rarely pours into feelings, Raonic recognized it on Sunday: this return is “exciting”.
“I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs in the past two years. In my rehabilitation, there were times when I had to stop for 7 to 10 days, because I felt pain. I felt like I was taking three steps back.”
He hasn’t looked at a point for months
And he almost stopped everything. Probably one of the most learned players on the circuit, Raonic has other passions outside of the little yellow ball.
Moreover, between this day in July 2021 when he had to withdraw from the circuit to treat himself and the last Indian Wells, in March, the Canadian did not watch a single point of tennis.
Except that “some things [lui] were missing” and motivated him to come back. “There are some things I wish I had done differently [dans ma carrière]“, points the giant of 6 ft 5 in.
“But if someone said to me tomorrow, ‘you can never play Wimbledon again,’ I don’t think I would be devastated,” he adds. I had two years to get used to the rest of my life.”
He could be happy… or sad
Raonic has therefore not set a goal for the fortnight, on this surface which goes perfectly with his huge serve. After beating Kecmanovic, he lost his second game in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, then had to skip the Queen’s tournament with a sore shoulder.
An injury he attributes to not having played at a high level for two years, but also to the stress of competition, which is difficult to imitate in training.
Currently 840e, Raonic is at Wimbledon thanks to his protected classification. Since he was used to being one of the top seeds in major events, he felt a little stressed when the table was unveiled, for fear of running into a Novak Djokovic from the start.
His opponent will ultimately be the Austrian Dennis Novak, 149e global. And it will be Tuesday, which will give Raonic the extra day of preparation he wanted.
“But even if I lose my first game, I could leave the pitch happy or sad. It will depend [de ma performance]“, he emits … always so Cartesian.