Milos Raonic of Canada returns a shot against Bernard Tomic of Austrailia during the BNP Paribas Open on March 12, 2016 in Indian Wells, Calif.Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
When last we saw Milos Raonic, he was bopping around a basketball court in Toronto, playing in the celebrity challenge at the NBA all-star game. Raonic was convalescing from a torn adductor muscle suffered at the Australian Open, and – that little dunk-fest notwithstanding – was taking it easy.
As much as the tennis star loves basketball and admires the athletes who play it, he wouldn't normally let anything get in the way of his single-minded determination to rise through the ATP Tour ranks. And he was doing a good job of it in 2016, defeating Swiss legend Roger Federer in the final at Brisbane to start the year off right, and then making it all the way to the Australian Open semi-finals, defeating former champion Stan Wawrinka along the way.
But that momentum was halted for six weeks as Raonic carefully trying to manage his recovery from yet another bothersome injury and not let a small thing turn into a bigger thing. He returned to the Tour this week, however, and has picked up more or less where he left off, winning his first two matches at the BNP Paribas Open here, and only spending about 90 total minutes on the court in doing so.
That's partly due to the fact that Raonic took out Australia's Bernard Tomic Monday, in a match that ended early because Tomic withdrew with a wrist injury after falling behind 6-2, 3-0.
Next up for Raonic is a fourth-round match with Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, both of whom are in the same quarter of the draw as No. 2 seed Andy Murray, who lost in three sets Monday.
In short, things are setting up nicely for Raonic, who is 11-1 on the season and really likes this tournament.
He made it to the quarters in 2014, upsetting Murray along the way, and got to the semis last year thanks to a dramatic upset win over Spaniard Rafael Nadal, in which he saved three match points.
Now 25, Raonic is starting to feel more comfortable on the court against tennis's biggest names, and there has been a discernible smoothing of the rough edges in his game. He may not prowl the court with Federer's effortless grace, but he is well removed from the awkward teenager who relied almost exclusively on his big serve in the early stages of his pro career.
"It's coming together," Raonic said. "I'm understanding more what I need to do and I think I'm perceiving the situations a little better, so I can be more efficient. I'm 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'm moving 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."
Raonic has always been good at dissecting his own game. Late last year, he parted way with long-time coach Ivan Ljubicic and replaced him with Carlos Moya, a former world No. 1. Moya, says Raonic, has helped him use his forehand more effectively, added some elements to his serve and tweaked his routine between matches.
"The way we communicate is different than anybody I've worked with in the past," Raonic says, "so that's been a positive effect."
As for his ongoing attempts to stay healthy, which ultimately may be the single biggest factor in determining how high he climbs the ladder, Raonic said he was anxious going into the tournament "to see where my leg is – and it's holding up well."
"We're just a little more cautious about it, and I think that's going to go on until I play many more matches. That's the only way you can clear it out of your mind. Because when you practise, you see a short ball and maybe you don't run to it and who cares? But not in a match."
Federer is skipping the first two Masters events of the hard-court season. Murray is already out of Indian Wells, and Nadal isn't the dominant player he once was. So the Big Four are in danger of becoming the Big One – Novak Djokovic of Serbia is clearly the best player in the world. And this week, he's on the other half of the draw from Raonic.
Raonic's avowed goal is to break through and win a major championship, so it will be interesting to see if he can carry his early-season form. After enduring so lengthy a layoff, did the Canadian expect to play so well so soon?
"I didn't think I'd start at that level," Raonic said. "But would I get back to it? Yeah."