By Chris Oddo | Monday March 14, 2016

 

More than a month removed from his Australian Open breakout--and injury--Milos Raonic is ready to pick up where he left off.

Photo Source: Sean M. Haffey/Getty

The Maple Leaf Missile is back in the show.

Canada’s Milos Raonic has two matches under his belt and he’s only dropped seven games at the BNP Paribas Open, ahead of what will be a huge test against Tomas Berdych.

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It’s right where Raonic, who raised many an eyebrow with his stellar semifinal run at this year’s Australian Open, wants to be.

The Canadian was in control of Bernard Tomic before the Aussie retired with a wrist injury down 6-3, 3-0 on Monday here, but he’ll face a much bigger challenge in the powerful Berdych in the round of 16.

Raonic, as semifinalist last year at Indian Wells, says he like the slower conditions of the court and the fast-flying ball that the desert conditions provide.

“I’ve always played well here,” he said. “The ball comes up for me, also it’s a little bit slower so it allows me to organize my game a little bit better. My serve still goes through and it’s effective and also it just gives me a little bit more looks on the return game and just more chances to set up the forehand and sort of try to control the point with that.”

Raonic improved his record to 11-1 on the season with his win today, and when he was asked by a reporter whether or not he was afraid that he might not be able to get back to the form he showed in Melbourne, he exuded nothing but confidence. “I didn’t think I’d start at that level,” he said. “Will I get back to it? Yeah.”

Raonic says the adductor injury that troubled him in Melbourne and kept him out of action for the last month is no longer an issue. He says he and his team are still cautious, but adds that if he plays a few more matches without issue he’ll consider it a distant memory.

“I don’t think there’s any kind of doubt that it’s behind me,” he said. “We’re just a little bit more cautious about it. I think that’s going to go until I play many matches. That’s the only way you can sort of clear it out of your mind...”

Raonic credits Carlos Moya with making some subtle adjustments to his game, and he says those little things make a big difference.

“I think the aspect we’ve worked on most is using the forehand a little bit better, adding a few things to my serve, and sort of just managing the situations better, between matches,” he said. “How to go about things, these kind of little routine changes, little things to pay attention to, and the way we communicate is different than with anybody else I’ve communicated with in the past, so that’s been a positive effect.”

Raonic has shored up his net game and been much more sure in his decision making on the court, and it showed in Australia. He agrees that he’s improving but sees himself as a work in progress. He’s always pushing to get better, and analyzing the intricacies of his game.

“I think it’s coming together,” Raonic said. “I think I’m understanding more what I need to do and I think I’m sort of perceiving the situations a little bit better so I can be more efficient in that sense. I’m sort of finding myself in the right parts of the court, not getting stuck too far behind, and I’m moving well so when the ball is short I move in on it quicker. I feel like I’m dictating more so I can anticipate more what kind of a defensive shot I’ll get back.”

Without the leg holding him back, Raonic could be set to become a true force on tour. If what we saw in Australia was just the beginning of Raonic’s next move up the rankings, watch out big four.