Physically, many believe Canada’s Milos Raonic has what it takes to claim a major championship.
Mentally, there’s some work to do, according to tennis great John McEnroe.
The Hall of Famer, and winner of 17 major titles, joined Sportsnet’s Starting Lineup on Thursday morning to talk about Raonic’s game and the mental aspect of tennis.
“When you’re out there by yourself, obviously you have to train extremely hard. Harder than ever now, because the game is more physical than it’s ever been,” he said. “But at the same time, at a certain point, it becomes extremely mental. He’s got some people he’s gotta deal with who are the greatest players that ever lived, so it’s hardly something to hold your head if you lose to [Andy] Murray in the finals.”
McEnroe was part of Raonic’s coaching team as a consultant for the grass-court season last summer, but the partnership ended prior to the U.S. Open in August.
“I thought he did a great job at Wimbledon and he had a strong Australian [Open] last year and he just hasn’t gotten over the hump. I believe it’s more mental. That’s me, that’s what I try to keep telling Milos,” McEnroe explained. “But these guys are incredible athletes and Milos has got some major weapons but he’s going to have to impose himself on these guys—not just physically with his serves, forehand or attacking more, or whatever tactics you’ve come up with, but he’s got to show these guys that he wants it more than these guys. And that’s hard to do, because they want it a lot.”
Raonic has also dealt with his share of injuries, most recently backing out of the BNP Paribas Open men’s singles tournament due to a hamstring injury—the same one that kept him from competing in the Delray Beach final late last month.
“I often try to make him understand how important it is that he show [opponents] and everyone that’s on the court and everyone that’s watching that he’s got to show to people that he wants it more than they do. He’s got to dig in harder, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” he said. “He’s accomplished a lot already, but if he wants to win a major too, he’s got to do that in my opinion.”
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