Milos Raonic is gearing up to start his season with his ATP Cup debut, and he’s counting on a deep squad to give Canada an edge.
The country has two Top 20 singles players leading the charge. Former World No. 3 Raonic is set to join #NextGenATP Denis Shapovalov, Peter Polansky and Steven Diez in Group A as they take on defending champion Serbia and Germany.
Raonic rose from No. 32 to No. 14 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in 2020, and he arrived in Melbourne hoping to use the 12-country event’s electric team atmosphere as a springboard to continue his climb in the new season. ATPTour.com caught up with the Canadian from quarantine to talk about his ATP Cup teammates, what he thinks of Canada’s ‘reputation’, and more.
If you could take one stroke from any one of your countrymen, what would it be and why?
Can I take someone’s hand coordination? If I could take one attribute from someone I would like to be left-handed like Denis. I think it makes your serve better right away, and obviously just makes you a lot more unorthodox for players. Most players are practising with righties, most matches throughout the year they’re playing against righties, so there’s definitely a factor there that gives you a little bit of a step up.
Tell me about your teammates.
You have Denis, who has been playing great since he broke out on Tour in I believe 2017. Broke out and quickly moved into the Top 100 and Top 50 and then last year he broke into the Top 10 for a period of time as well. It’s going to be very exciting to play alongside him. I’ve played one Davis Cup tie alongside him and that was a fun experience.
Then you have Peter Polansky, who I’ve played with in Davis Cup many times. He’s going to be our playing captain as well, so that’s exciting. He’s a person that gets along with everybody. He’s a super nice guy, so I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with him leading the charge. And then Steven Diez as well, who I’ve played a few Davis Cup ties with. Just a great guy, a great teammate and someone who I know is going to put everything forward so we can all succeed.
What did you see from the inaugural ATP Cup that made you excited to play for the first time?
It’s been very exciting and encouraging to be a part of it this year and to have a chance to represent Canada alongside Denis [Shapovalov]. It’s something that I hope lives up to the hype, because the entertainment factor, the encouragement and seeing how excited the other players all were across all the other countries was very encouraging for me on the sidelines and something that I want to be a part of.
How much does the thought of competing in front of fans at Melbourne Arena motivate you?
It’s very exciting and it’s very encouraging. To have the quarantine factor – which has been difficult but not too bad for me – lead right into an event like the ATP Cup makes it a lot more worth it, and then leading into the Australian Open after that. That whole swing is something for myself personally to get very excited about.
What are the personalities like on Team Canada?
With Peter, you have a guy who is sort of leading us as our captain as well and he’s someone who is going to man the ship. He’s a super nice guy, and he really understands people well. I think there’s not really a single person who doesn’t get along with Peter. With Steven, he’s very feisty. He grew up most of his life in Spain, so he has a little bit of that Spanish characteristic in him. So he is a very feisty on-court player, and I know he’s going to bring out everything he can to help the team get as far as possible. And then Denis, he’s got this incredible talent about him. He can hit a winner from anywhere in the court, and you can sort of sense that in his personality as well. He’s got this sort of outgoing personality in a spontaneous way.
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Who is most likely to be hyping everyone up?
I think [it will be] between Peter and Steven. It’ll be close. I know that me and Denis before matches, we’re sort of guys that get into our ‘zone’ and I think we really crunch down. Those two guys are the more vocal guys, so that’s why it will be fun to have them on the team.
What does Team Canada bring to the ATP Cup?
I think for us it’s going to be depth. That’s going to be important. I believe we’re probably up there among a few of the top teams that have a higher average [FedEx ATP] Ranking compared to other teams. Especially when you have to win two out of the three matches, I think that could be a great advantage for us and something that pays dividends.
What are three things you love the most about Canada?
I think there’s a reputation that’s followed us, and I think it’s been earned by many generations before us that we are gentle, generous and kind people. I think when people around the world hear that you’re from Canada, they do light up a bit more and they expect that niceness from you. I’m happy that we get to live up to it.
I think Canada is also probably the most welcoming country in the world. Obviously from myself and my family’s experience, immigrating there was a big thing. I think people for many generations have come to Canada that way. Denis as well immigrated there. [It is] very welcoming and very fair to give each and every person tremendous opportunities.
And one thing I can’t wait to explore is all the nature… Canada is the second-largest country in the world by land mass. I know a lot of it is covered in snow for a big chunk of the year, but hopefully after my tennis career I can take the time to travel and see some incredible things.
What is your favourite spot in Canada that isn’t well known?
Well, it is well known. It’s going to be on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, Banff (Alberta) and Lake Jasper. I’ve been to Banff, that was an incredible experience, but Lake Louise I’d like to visit. There are certain lakes there that are incredible. And then also on the Atlantic side; I’ve been to Nova Scotia, but there are so many provinces that I’d love to visit.
I like being close to water, but I also like being in the mountains, so to have that all accessible in one beautiful, great, big nation is something tremendous and something for all us Canadians to be grateful for.
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