Milos Raonic – Saturday, March 16, 2019

D. THIEM/M. Raonic
7-6, 6-7, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What did you think of your performance out there today?

MILOS RAONIC: Definitely some things I would have liked to do better, but I thought, you know, I competed and I tried to figure things out as best as I could. Sort of the way it goes.

He played well. He did the things smart, and he did the things better at the end.

Q. Were these last two weeks kind of an opportunity just on court to try some new things, especially with a new coach, and just mix up the pace a little bit?

MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, I definitely tried, but not too many different things. We both came in with the understanding that these are two very important tournaments for me in my schedule.

We could maybe try to incorporate things in different ways that I already use but not to try to add anything that would be completely new to me or try to take away the things that I feel most comfortable with.

And I think that’s sort of the approach we had.

Q. With today, nobody was breaking anybody’s serve for the longest time. I mean, what goes into that? What was it about his serve that was so difficult to handle, or was it difficult to handle?

MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, he was pushing me back. He wasn’t missing many first serves. He was pushing me back, and then he was aggressive from the very first ball. There wasn’t many times that I got to be on the offensive on the return games, and, when I did, I wasn’t efficient about taking advantage of it.

But, you know, we have played a few times now, and it’s sort of been the same thing. He had opportunities today to break me. He used one of them. But it was always sort of the person that could be the aggressor that did better.

Q. Are there some guys on tour where it’s just like that, that it’s really a puzzle to try and solve their serve?

MILOS RAONIC: Yeah, some guys you might find more difficult than others. I think it just depends on the way they play and the things they like. Some guys like — when a guy gives them time, some guys like when the ball comes past them so they can use the opponent’s pace.

I think it just depends from each player.

Q. When you started the match, were you aware of what was happening with the other semifinal? Or did someone tell you during the match?

MILOS RAONIC: No, I didn’t know.

Q. You didn’t know until after?

MILOS RAONIC: No, until I saw — I came back with the golf cart and I saw Roger going out in his casual clothes, I put the pieces together (smiling).

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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