Milos Raonic checks in from the Rogers Cup in Montreal to provide his thoughts on the tournament, an update on his recovery and the importance of the upcoming Davis Cup.
MONTREAL -- It's fun to be back and nice to be around a tennis atmosphere again. It makes it that much harder that I'm not playing. I was hoping to be here, in my home tournament. I played so well two years ago, and to not be out there is bittersweet. But it's nice to be around the guys. Most of them are coming over and asking me how I'm doing.
So far, everybody I'm seeing is doing that, even (Roger) Federer and some of Djokovic's team. It's nice getting that feedback from them.
On tour, we're very competitive with one another but they're checking in and they care. It's a good feeling.
The hardest part is being away from it. As a player on tour, every other week you're somewhere in the world. Now I'm home a lot. I'm getting healed up. It's taking its time, but it makes me want to come back that much more.
Tournaments like the Rogers Cup in Montreal, these are the type of stages you have to play on. Some people don't understand the type of tournaments we go to. Some are terrible, and in the middle of nowhere. So it's good to be here and I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible.
I'm here to do the commentating for the matches on Rogers Sportsnet. While I'm here, I'm staying with my (billet) family from when I was training here a few years ago. It's nice I get to see them. My agent is taking my hotel room. Last time I was here, was a year ago and I saw them, although the father came to watch me play at the French Open.
I speak with them on Skype quite a bit, every few weeks, but a lot has changed. Their son, Cedric, suddenly feels a lot older. Just yesterday, I called the house line to say I was going to drop off my stuff and thought it was the father speaking. Cedric is like eight or nine inches taller and he's only 14! Good memories are coming back.
I remember Cedric and I, we used to wrestle and I threw him around easily. I still think I could throw him around, just not as easily.
It's nice to be around the tournament. This one is special. Montreal fans are big, big tennis fans, and there's a good atmosphere around the event. Here, it's always good, and with Vasek (Pospisil) doing well, it's helpful for Canadian tennis.
Everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing and I'm doing well. I've been hitting for two weeks now. It's been about eight or ten practices of basic, stationary hitting. I'm feeling closer to the game. Feel like I'm doing something closely related, rather than just working out.
While I miss the Tour, it's fun to be back with my family in Thornhill. My sister's kids are home from Montenegro, and that's another element of fun. It's not easy with 15-month old twins running around the house, but I'm going to enjoy their six-week visit.
It's nice to be with my father and mother and spend some time with them. I'm busy all day doing my rehab, but it's nice to be home for a home-cooked meal, in my own bed and familiar territory.
As of Saturday, I'm going to practise more. Two, one-hour hits a day. Progressively, we are getting through everything and should know more after that on how the body feels. I'll be seeing my doctor on Aug. 17 to get a check-up on my hip and figure out what the next steps are.
I'm looking forward to Davis Cup. It's a great opportunity to make the World Group. It's important for us, and the nation. Tennis is on the up right now and it would only boost it if we can play with the select few countries.
The World Group is very important. It's a big part of having the chance to play against the best players in the world more, and more often. To be a part of a team effort, not just individual, means a lot too. Hopefully that pushes things in the right way and things get better.
Hope you're enjoying the Rogers Cup, in Montreal and Toronto!
Milos
