All Milos Raonic wants for 2016 is to remain healthy and fit through the year.
The Canadian has been considered the next big thing in tennis for some years now and seemed as if he was arriving last year.
A series of impressive results saw him rise to as high as No 4 in the rankings in May, albeit only for a week.
But a foot injury, which required surgery not only forced him to miss the French Open, it curtailed his momentum.
Further back problems – possibly the result of an early return from the foot injury – meant he pulled out of the Paris Masters. In all, the problems restricted him to just 49 matches in the year.
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“I’m happy sort of where I finished the year,” Raonic said on Tuesday, in Abu Dhabi where he is getting ready to make his debut at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships (MWTC).
“I think it showed how well I started off the year, because for the next nine months playing with some serious injury, having foot surgery before the French Open and followed by constant back problems.
“It’s a little bit unfortunate that I hadn’t played a healthy match since March.
“So now it’s good to be healthy and I feel the level of tennis has improved in this period of time. Now that the health is there I feel like I can really make a push.”
At one stage, the problems had become so acute, Raonic felt finishing matches was a problem, let alone winning them. The injuries “did put things in perspective for me,” he said. “It’s tough, it’s also a little bit saddening and tough to swallow each day when every single time you go out on court to play a match, you’re like, ‘I don’t even know if I can finish today’.
“So the mind at the end of the day is not only on what do you need to do to get better, it’s also on, in some way, some compensations you’re trying to make. It’s good to have that off my mind.”
As a result, instead of thinking about specific targets at the grand slams, or of adding to the seven ATP titles he has won, or breaking back into the top ten, Raonic simply wants to end 2016 in good shape.
“I think we just tried to really simplify it when we sat down [for this year]: stay healthy. If I can go out there and play 60 matches at 80% or better, I’ll be in very good shape at the end of the year.”
He surprised himself with his off-season work, by discovering that he is fitter now than he was at his best last year.
In fact, even an amicable split with coach Ivan Ljubicic has not dampened the mood. He is in no rush to expand his coaching team and is happy with Ricardo Piatti.
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The MWTC, he said, is the best way to start his climb. “You’ve got six players in the top 15. And the format is great, guaranteed matches against the best players in the world.
“This gives you some early insight on what has worked and what needs to keep getting better. Especially leading up to the grand slams so early, there are very few preparatory matches. So it’s important to take the most from here.”
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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