Milos Raonic says that missing the French Open will give him extra time to prepare for the grass-court swing and allow him to get in more matches in subsequent tournaments. The No. 5-ranked Canadian (a career-high ranking) had nerve surgery on his foot and is planning to resume hitting next week.
The time away from Roland Garros will allow him to work on his fitness and could get him more time to get used to the grass, Raonic suggested to *USA Today*. “It gives me two and a half weeks of preparation and I can be solely on grass before the start of Queen’s,” he said. “It gives me the added benefit to be ready for that part of the season. Once I was on clay, with my injury, I wasn’t doing any training because of the pain. I was limited with what I could do, so that will be my focus as well.
“[It] is going to allow me to be able to play more this summer because of the work that I’ve put in now.”
Raonic is hoping to defend his Washington title and then aims to perform well at home in Canada and at the U.S. Open. "I put more pressure on myself to play well at those two [tournaments] than anywhere else," he said.