Raonic had a tremendous last season that saw him reach a maiden grand slam final at Wimbledon and peak at No3 in the world rankings but was still hampered by injuries that dented his chances on the big stage.

An adductor problem played a role in his five-set defeat to Andy Murray in the Australian Open semi-finals, an ankle injury saw him retire in Beijing and a torn right quad ruled him out of the Paris Masters semis.

The 196cm Montenegro-born Canadian has a long history with physical problems but is working hard to avoid such issues in the future.

“I have changed around the way I prepare – even just the way I split my time,” Raonic told reporters in Abu Dhabi Friday following a three-set defeat to Rafael Nadal in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship semi-finals.

“I try to not do really anything that’s pounding on my lower body over the training period other then when I am on the court. That’s one big thing we have focused a lot on.

“Losing some weight as well, to just take some pressure off my joints. These kinds of differences is where the tension has gone and I feel much better.”

Raonic takes on Murray in Saturday’s third-place play-off and he’s looking to capitalise on the attacking game he’s been working on with his new coach Richard Krajicek.

Against Nadal Friday, Raonic dropped serve three times but was pleased with the fact that he managed to turn things around and win the second set, before losing in the third.

Asked how he felt Nadal competed against him, Raonic said: “Rafa’s competing well, he’s always competed well – that’s never been an issue for him – he’s playing well and striking the ball well.

“You can see he’s trying to be a bit more aggressive and really take control of the court. He doesn’t really want to rely on running around too much that he was able to defend like before. He’s doing that quite well and if he keeps that up through the important moments in big matches then he’ll be in fine shape.”