Abu Dhabi: Emboldened by reaching the Wimbledon final last summer, Milos Raonic is confident he can win a maiden grand slam title in 2017.
The Canadian insists he is best placed among the rising stars of tennis to challenge the Andy Murray-Novak Djokovic duopoly having reached a career-high world number three.
Earlier this month, the 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash predicted major glory for Raonic given his big-serving prowess and continued improvement.
“Can I win a grand slam? I definitely believe so,” the 26-year-old told media on the first day of the season-opening Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
“I was one match away, three sets away [in losing the Wimbledon final to Murray]. I believe I am the most consistent of the [challenging crop] week in, week out.”
Raonic’s optimism has also been fuelled by the appointment of Richard Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champion, as his new coach last week.
Explaining what the Dutchman will bring to his game, he said: “I think it’s really about stepping up my game and being more aggressive and coming forward more.
“I am not just content where I am right now; I need to be much better. I hesitate sometimes and am content just to stay in the rally. There are a lot of points in each matches where I could step forward.
“Those goals are exemplified by my choice of working with Richard.”
Raonic received a bye to the semi-finals of the three-day annual Mubadala exhibition tournament at Zayed Sports City, which ends on Saturday. He will take on Rafael Nadal, who beat him in last year’s final on his debut at the event, or Tomas Berdych in Friday’s evening match.
“It’s going to be a great match either way,” he said.
An interesting sub-plot to a potential meeting with Nadal would be that the Spaniard now has Raonic’s former coach, Carlos Moya, in his corner.
Raonic believes the 14-time grand slam champion will prosper under Moya’s tutelage given that the pair have been long-time friends.
But the 6ft 5ins Raonic is no longer cowed by the prospect of facing the big beasts of tennis and added: “I feel in better shape physically than ever before and feel I am playing better tennis than ever before.”
