Starting his new season at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi after missing several weeks of tennis in 2015 through injuries, Milos Raonic was asked about his main goal for 2016.
“The main goal for 2016 is really to stay healthy,” he said. “The last year was probably the most draining one because everyday since, I would say, April 1, was a doubt. ‘Can I play this day, how can I do it’.”
If he could stay healthy, Raonic said he could “do really good things” and “hopefully make a big result, much bigger than I have in the past”.
Also from Ahmed Rizvi:
Azarenka’s win shot in arm for women’s tennis after Sharapova story
For Nadal controversy, blame anti-doping policies of tennis officials
The Canadian has been making good results for sure – he beat Roger Federer to win the title in Brisbane, beat Stan Wawrinka on his way to the last-four at the Australian Open and was in the final at Indian Wells on Sunday.
His wish to stay healthy, however, has not really come true. In the semi-final of the Australian Open, Raonic could barely move in the latter stages of his five-set loss to Andy Murray because of an abductor injury.
Raonic was forced to sit out for a month and could only make his return in Indian Wells, but now he is doubt for Miami with what looks like the same abductor injury. He took a medical timeout after the first set of his 6-2, 6-0 loss to Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final and will be consulting his medical staff for the "right investigation" before he makes a decision about Miami.
Raonic seemed confident the injury is not as bad as Australia and his fans will be hoping he is right. For he is playing some of the best tennis of his career in 2016 and another injury break could be really frustrating for the 25-year-old star.
Raonic, as he revealed in Abu Dhabi, sets really high standards for himself and he is not really a very patient guy. "When I want something, I try to get it as quickly as I can," he said.
A major crown is high up on his list of wants and the way he is playing at the moment, Raonic must fancy his chances. Now, if only his body can support him through those crucial matches, the semis and finals.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
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How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5