Milos Raonic turned his focus to the grass-court swing and a three-week partnership with John McEnroe on Sunday following a fourth-round exit at Roland Garros.

The Canadian, who currently works with Carlos Moya and Riccardo Piatti, explained the reason why former World No. 1 McEnroe has agreed to join his team as a consultant.

“I was sort of just looking for another set of eyes to be a bit more efficient on grass, and I think people are seeing it as just for grass,” said Raonic, after he lost to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Paris. “It’s about generally improving. I want to improve coming forward and I want to improve putting more pressure on my opponents.

“I feel like I was a lot more efficient at the beginning of the year coming forward, and it’s something that I would like to put a lot of attention to. It just works out with grass that’s probably the thing that will benefit me the most. Now, in the three weeks leading to Wimbledon, we are going to work, and really put some attention to that.

“[There are] other parts of my game that I can do a bit differently to be better, and it’s not by any means just with the intention of Wimbledon. It’s about generally improving.”

McEnroe, who now works as a television commentator and is a part of the ATP Champions Tour, spent 170 weeks at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“It’s a great honour and there’s a lot I want to achieve,” said 25-year-old Raonic. “I’m maybe far from it today, but I feel like I’m a lot closer and I’m going to try to do everything I can to sort of maximise giving myself the opportunity to achieve those goals.

“At the end of the day of the day, every coach I have is to some extent an adviser, and it is my job personally, out of everything I hear, to weigh what it’s worth and weigh what is best for me. I’m the CEO of the Milos Raonic Tennis. That’s it… I know everybody I have around me wants to help me to the fullest.

“It’s not a focus for just Wimbledon. It’s John coming along to help me improve in general.”

Raonic reached the 2014 Wimbledon semi-finals and has an 8-9 record in ATP World Tour finals (all on hard courts). The World No. 9 will next compete at the Aegon Championships in London.

Viktor Troicki has evened his fourth-round match against third seed Stan Wawrinka on Sunday at Roland Garros 6-7(5), 7-6(9). After losing the first-set tie-break, the Serbian clinched the second set tie-break on his fifth set point.

The opening sets have been near opposites. Neither player lost his serve during the first set. Wawrinka never even faced a break point. But in the second, both players earned two breaks of serve in the back-and-forth contest.

Troicki, No. 24 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is looking to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. He’s reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam four times, including twice at Roland Garros (2011 l. to Murray, 2013 l. to Tsonga) but has never reached the final eight.

Wawrinka, the defending Roland Garros champion, is looking to win his eighth match in a row and reach the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.

Milos Raonic will have two former World No. 1s in his corner after it was announced that John McEnroe will join the 25-year-old in a consulting role during the upcoming grass-court season. Raonic is scheduled to play at the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club, in addition to making a sixth appearance at Wimbledon.

McEnroe is one of many former No. 1 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings to join the coaching ranks in recent years, along with Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl and Carlos Moya. Moya was brought on by Raonic in a full-time role in January. The World No. 9 is also coached by Riccardo Piatti.

“He’s one of five or six guys that can win Wimbledon.” McEnroe said during an interview on Eurosport on Friday night. “I’m excited to be part of his team. Milos has a great team with Riccardo Piatti and Carlos Moya. I’m going to be a consultant on the grass.”

Known for his deft touch and exceptional volleying skills, McEnroe, who spent 170 weeks atop the Emirates ATP Rankings, joined Raonic for an hour-long practice Saturday at Roland Garros.

.@milosraonic & John McEnroe with a little post-practice chat. Milos + McEnroe + Moya = Magic? #InsideRG pic.twitter.com/CcI7zZOhje

— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2016

The Canadian is looking to build on a strong start to the season that has seen him post a 27-6 record, claiming an eighth ATP World Tour title in Brisbane and reaching the final at the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. He is slated to face Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Roland Garros fourth round on Sunday.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic streaked into the Round of 16 at Roland Garros, racing past Aljaz Bedene 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.

With darkness decending on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the top seed took care of business after just over two hours. He fired 39 winners in total, including five aces, to secure his 10th appearance in the fourth on the terre battue. Djokovic was efficient at the net, claiming 11 of 15 points, while turning aside five of seven break points faced.

“I tried to come up with the right tactics and execution of the tactics, which I did,” Djokovic said. “I played very well. There were a couple of long games where I didn’t use my opportunities. But, I closed out two sets pretty well and started the third great. I had a couple opportunities for a double break and 2-Love.

“Then I dropped my serve and the games were very long… We went deep into night. I think we played to the maximum extent of time we could, with the light. I’m just glad I managed to finish tonight.”

After claiming the first two sets, the Serb broke immediately to open the third and overcame a break back from Bedene in the fourth game, breaking twice more to close out the win over the World No. 66. Djokovic, who notched his 50th match win at the clay-court Grand Slam on Thursday, with victory over Steve Darcis, will look to reach the quarter-finals when he faces Roberto Bautista Agut.

“Obviously it’s not easy to play Novak,” said Bedene, who was appearing in his first Grand Slam third round. “I honestly felt like he wasn’t giving anything. I had to play well to get games. He was returning well, so I was under constant pressure, which wasn’t easy. But I was playing some decent ball. I could maybe get a few more games, but I was fighting well. I’m pleased with the performance.”

Bautista Agut, who is seeking his first win in five FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes against Djokovic, fired past Next Generation star Borna Coric 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. The Spaniard, seeded 14th, needed two hours to emerge victorious, equalling his best Grand Slam result in advancing to the fourth round.

The 28 year old recorded three straight match wins on clay for the first time since his title run at the ATP World Tour 250 event in Stuttgart in 2014. He will be seeking revenge against Djokovic on Monday, after suffering a 6-2, 6-1 defeat at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid earlier this month.

David Goffin improved to 3-0 in five-setters at Roland Garros, scoring his first victory over Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 on Saturday.

The Belgian, who won a pair of five-set battles en route to his lone previous Round of 16 appearance on the Parisian clay, in 2012, fired 36 winners, including 10 aces, to advance after nearly three hours. Now seeded 12th at the clay-court Grand Slam, Goffin was a lucky loser when he reached the fourth round four years ago (l. to Federer).

After falling behind two-sets-to-one, Almagro looked to swing the momentum in his favour deep in the fourth. He abruptly took a 0/40 lead at 5-4 and forced a decider a point later. But an in-form Goffin would not be denied in the fifth, breaking for 2-1 with a rifled cross-court forehand, which drew an error from his Spanish opponent. He would break once again in the seventh game before securing the victory on his first match point.

Goffin is set to square off against Ernests Gulbis for a spot in the quarter-finals. It will be their third FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter, having split the first two meetings.

Gulbis advanced to the Round of 16 in Paris for the second time in three years when No. 1 Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired with a left adductor injury. The 27-year-old Latvian is enjoying a resurgence on the terre battue this week, winning three matches at a tournament for the first time since Vienna last year. His best Grand Slam result game here at Roland Garros in 2014, reaching the semi-finals (l. to Djokovic).

“It is very strange,” said Gulbis. “I feel very sorry for Jo. Here unfortunately we played just seven games. It’s never nice to win like this, so I feel very sorry for him. There’s not much I can say about the match itself. It was just the beginning. I was just starting to get to feel the atmosphere of the centre court. I haven’t been here for a couple of years.

“But overall, if we take that apart away, then I’m satisfied the way I played and the way I hit the ball in practice and in the first two rounds. The second round was especially good from my game and from my perspective.”

An emotional Tsonga, who left the court in tears, led 5-2 in the first set when he was forced to withdraw after stretching to hit a forehand. It marked just the second time since 2009 that he failed to reach the second week at his home Grand Slam. Ninth seed Richard Gasquet is now the lone remaining player from France in the singles draw.

“The problem is my adductor, the same thing I had before the tournament,” Tsonga lamented. “I just came on court pretty good and feeling really good. The first game of the match I slid and I felt a pain.

“It’s of course a big disappointment. I felt really well on the court. I was in a really good shape today. It’s just really difficult to accept that I’m not in the tournament anymore.”

Latvian Ernests Gulbis, one of the ATP World Tour’s deep thinkers, is into the fourth round at Roland Garros after opponent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired during the first set of their third-round clash on Saturday. It’s been an unexpected fortnight for Gulbis, whose best run at a Grand Slam event, a semi-final finish, came in Paris in 2014.

The Latvian ended his partnership with coach Gunther Bresnik, who also works with Dominic Thiem, on the eve of Roland Garros and was just 4-10 coming into the event. He is now into the second week of a Grand Slam event for the first time in exactly two years.

“I’ve thought about [my coaching situation] a little bit before the tournament,” said Gulbis, who is looking for a coach who can focus on him exclusively. “I’m searching for not so much a tactical coach, but more of a technical coach, because I’m the kind of player who has problems maintaining his game and maintaining his shots clean.”

Gulbis, currently No. 80 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, cracked the Top 10 in June 2014. He has shown an ability to beat nearly anyone on any surface, as evidenced by his 16 career wins against Top-10 players and by his stunning upset of then-No. 1 Roger Federer on the clay of Rome in 2010. In his mind, rediscovering that level of play on a consistent basis requires doing the small things right on a daily basis. An attention to detail is what he looks for, above all, in a prospective coach.

“If I don’t have a racquet in hand for a couple of days, I suddenly start to hit my forehand differently. So I need a coach to see those small changes.

“Tactically, I think my game is pretty uncomfortable for most of the guys, if I serve big and if I hit the ball big. So I think mostly I need to concentrate on my own technique and to make sure my own shots are clean.”

Because of those considerations, Gulbis’ ideal coach may not be a former No. 1 or a Grand Slam champion.

“To be honest, I don’t necessarily think that a former player, no matter how good he is, is necessarily a good coach. I think that a good coach needs to have experience.

“I like that Gunter had a lot of experience, especially in the technical side of the game, because he spent probably one of the most hours on court of all the coaches on tour. He taught kids, he taught right-handed players, left-handed players, serve and volley, baseliners, juniors, and older players. So his understanding of the game is very big. This is what I liked in his experience.

“If you take a former player, they always look at the game from their perspective. They understand what they did, but can’t always give you solutions for fixing your game. I think if one thing doesn’t work, you have to have a backup plan. And not just one or two, but many of them. This is what I’m searching for in a coach.”

In the fourth round, Gulbis will face Belgium’s David Goffin, his occasional off-season training partner.

“In the practices I couldn’t beat [Goffin] because the guy is like a wall. I think he likes playing against guys like me, who are hitting the wall,” Gulbis joked.

“But if I remember right, I beat him once in Acapulco or somewhere. I don’t remember exactly where, but I think I’m capable of beating him.”

If Gulbis can overcome Goffin, he could face Thiem, and his former coach, in the quarter-finals.