The Associated Press
Justin Bergman
MELBOURNE, Australia–Not every tennis player quotes from Goethe on Twitter, keeps a journal, and visits art exhibitions during tournaments.
Milos Raonic, though, has taken a slightly different path in life.
He grew up playing tennis in snowy Canada, not sunny Florida. And his parents–immigrants from Montenegro–knew nothing about tennis.
On long drives to tournaments, his father would quiz him with math problems, not break down his forehand.
The Canadian has many passions in life but make no mistake, he’s still very focused on his career goal: winning a Grand Slam.
And with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic now out of the draw at the Australian Open, the third-ranked Raonic suddenly is the highest seed remaining.
Is this his best opportunity to finally break through and win a major trophy?
“It sort of crosses your mind,” Raonic admitted after his 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round earlier today.
“But it’s very insignificant because there’s a lot for me to even get past . . . I have some very difficult tasks ahead of me,” added Raonic, who reached the Wimbledon final and the semi-finals at Melbourne Park last year.
“I’m pretty intent on staying in that moment; in that sort of challenge one at a time.”
Indeed, Raonic has a significant obstacle in front of him next: 14-time major winner Rafael Nadal, who defeated Gael Monfils in the fourth round.
After ending his season early last year because of a wrist injury, a rejuvenated Nadal has been playing inspired tennis in Melbourne.
He also has a 6-2 record against Raonic, although the Canadian won their most recent match at the season-opening Brisbane International event.
The other concern for Raonic has been his health–he came down with a cold earlier in the tournament and was bed-ridden for a day.
His timing seemed slightly off against Bautista Agut when he racked up 55 unforced errors and even uncharacteristically hurled his racket to the court midway through the third set.
But Raonic said he’s on the mend and playing with new focus under his recently-hired coach, Richard Krajicek.
Now, he’ll see if he can keep moving forward against Nadal and take another step toward the trophy.
“[It’s] coming together now,” he remarked.
“Putting in a great finish to the season last year and playing what I feel is some of my best tennis right now.”
