MELBOURNE, Australia: His signature look includes a sleeve on one arm, impeccable hair and now apparently, a mouth guard.
Milos Raonic could step off a tennis court and be ready to shoot some hoops or step into a boxing ring if he wanted to.
The world No14’s mouth guard has caused a stir on social media but it turns out, he’s actually wearing it during matches for a very good reason.
“Just to not grind my teeth while I play. It just causes stress and headaches sometimes,” The Canadian explained on Tuesday.
“I wear it all the time other than when I’m eating, so I got used to it pretty quickly. Maybe I fiddle it with it too much while I play, but other than that it’s pretty much there all the time.”
C’mon Day
Melbourne Park saw record numbers for Tuesday’s attendance, mainly because it was the kicking off of Lleyton Hewitt’s farewell tournament, which organisers decided to call ‘C’mon Day’ in honour of the Aussie legend.
Ex-Formula One driver and reigning World Endurance champion Mark Webber was among Hewitt’s guests and he stuck around to congratulate the Australian and his family outside the players’ restaurant after the match.
On-court, Hewitt turned the tables on interviewer Jim Courier, when the American told him he had run out of questions for him.
Hewitt and Courier will be captaining Australia and USA respectively in their upcoming Davis Cup tie in March and the Aussie took the chance to try and get some info from his adversary.
Here’s how the conversation went…
Baby hopes
Australian Sam Groth faces Andy Murray in the second round and is aware of the tough task ahead of him against the world No2.
Groth dons a huge serve and could prove tricky for Murray but the Aussie said he’d also be happy if his opponent’s wife, Kim, went into labour so the Scot would have to fly back home and hand him a walkover.
“I will have the home crowd with me and I’ve got nothing to lose. Be nice if his wife went into labor overnight, but…” joked Groth on Tuesday.
Considering the form Murray showed in his first round, it’s fair to assume many in his section of the draw are wishing the same thing.