Raonic Disappointed By Lack Of Firepower

Milos Raonic was riding on the crest of a wave – his game, seemingly, back at its dominant best. The Canadian had won 94 per cent of his service games in four matches, he’d faced just five break points and struck 107 aces at this year’s Australian Open. But Lucas Pouille stopped his surge on Wednesday for a place in his first Grand Slam championship semi-final.

Raonic was clearly disappointed to make a last-eight exit at Melbourne Park for the third time (also 2015 and 2017), admitting, “I felt at the beginning of the match I was tossing the ball a little bit too far forward. It was not helping my serving percentage.

“I knew he was going to make things difficult. I wish I would have just served better and cleaned up some aspects of my game where I felt like I was just a little bit behind.”

The 28-year-old, who reached the Wimbledon final in July 2016, went on to offer some advice to Pouille as the Frenchman prepared to face World No. 1 and six-time former champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

“Not to expect that he needs to do too much more, and just to play within himself,” said Raonic. “I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s not so much only the opponent you’re facing, but it’s also the situation, which is a completely new one for him.

“I think he has to stay true to himself, try to do the things he does well, really focus on that aspect more than anything else.”

Raonic will now leave Melbourne to access a right knee that hindered his time on-court in 2018. “There is damage inside my knee that I’m aware,” he said. “I’m trying to avoid potentially having to have surgery on. I don’t know if I can afford that risk at this moment.”

The Canadian is next scheduled to compete at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, which begins on 11 February.