Milos Raonic feeling healthy for a change heading into New York Open

If there was anything better for Milos Raonic than reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, it was coming out of the tournament for the first time in years without injury.

When he begins play in the New York Open that starts with qualifying Sunday at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum, it will be with the assurance that some part of his body won’t be holding him back, that the little aches and pains that afflict the pro tennis player will be just that, little.

Raonic is making his first appearance in the New York Open, a tournament he’s watched on television during its first two iterations and last year he saw fellow Canadian Brayden Schnur reach the final.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing in New York. I’ve spent some time there,” Raonic said. “I have a lot of friends in the city and I thought it would be a great opportunity.  It’ seems like a great event.”

And it would seem like a great event for Raonic. Of his eight career ATP Tour victories, five have been on indoor hard courts, including three times at the NY Open’s predecessor in San Jose. He won his first ever title in San Jose in 2013 and with it he brought the promise of a bright career. He rose to No. 3 in the world at the end of the 2016 season, having beaten Roger Federer in the final at Brisbane and again in the semifinals at Wimbledon before losing to Andy Murray in the only Grand Slam final he’s ever reached.

Raonic is an imposing 6-5 with a dynamite serve, a huge wingspan and decent speed. But his game has been compromised by the breakdown of that big body: hip surgery in 2011, surgery on both feet in 2015, left wrist surgery in 2017, persistent back spasms and a torn adductor muscle in 2019. With some changes in his team around him, and subsequent changes in his physical workouts and preparation, he entered 2020 as healthy as he’s been in three years.

At the Australian he defeated the rising star (and mirror image) Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round, former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in the fourth round and lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals in three competitive sets.

“I think it’s the first time in the last six years that I finished competing at the Australian Open without any injuries, where I can go and continue my training and get ready for the next tournament,” Raonic said. “I was happy with the way my game has been progressing and got better and better throughout the Open. I didn’t play much tennis last year, so I’m still finding my game, finding my way but I think it was a very positive starting point for me.”

Introspective and thoughtful, the 29-year-old Raonic has often asked himself where he stands on this journey through tennis, which began when he turned down a full scholarship to the University of Virginia to turn pro in 2008. The injuries that have impacted his career have yet to cause him to consider abandoning it. So where does he find himself now on the eve on the New York Open?

“I’m rebuilding,” said Raonic, currently ranked 32 in the world. “Through injuries, the past three years have sort of been squandered. I wish things were different but I have to work my way back up. I feel like my tennis is there but I have to stay healthy and give myself a chance to compete week in and week out. I think I can find a level above what I had before.”