The 29-year-old Scot upped his game at the start of the deciding set and promptly won the first five games before Edmund could get back on the scoreboard.
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Murray dispatched Croatia’s Marin Cilic 6-3 4-6 6-3 on Saturday to keep alive the prospect of defending his Queen’s title.
There was less drama in the second semi-final as world number nine Raonic took just 62 minutes to see off Tomic, booking his first Queen’s final appearance and his third ATP Tour final of the year.
British talent Kyle Edmund recorded the biggest win of his career as he beat experienced Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4 3-6 6-1 at Queen’s.
Cilic broke for 4-3 in the second set with Murray wasting three immediate break-back points as the 2014 US Open champion held before forcing a decider.
Lendl’s second spell coaching Murray caught many on the hop, with even his former foe Becker admitting to the BBC: “I was a bit surprised I must say”. But his customary wobble came when he ran out of challenges after just two games of the second set.
Cilic also needed three sets in a win over American Steve Johnson.
Murray’s coach Ivan Lendl won this title twice in 1989 and 1990, and Murray replicated something of the Czech’s power off the ground as he overcame the 2012 champion.
“Kyle Edmund is improving all the time – it’s not one massive leap but every year he gets a bit better”.
Raonic revealed new coach John McEnroe has told him to dominate opponents, with the Canadian keen to assert his authority over Murray in Sunday’s Aegon Championships final.
Slovenia-born Bedene, a United Kingdom citizen since 2015, saw his appeal to represent his country in the Davis Cup rejected earlier this year Murray will now face one of his title-winning British teammates in Kyle Edmund on Friday.
On another dreary June day, the two Brits exchanged early service breaks before Murray broke again to go 4-3 up with a dive volley victor reminiscent of Boris Becker in his heyday.
“I don’t think it will sway anything the way I go about things or Andy goes about things tomorrow”.
Earlier that year, Cilic had snapped a painful seven match losing streak but it is Murray who rules the roost on grass, including two wins at Queen’s. “I tried to up the intensity and be more aggressive at the beginning of third, and it worked”.
As he has done so many times in the past, Murray found the game to confound Cilic, despite a first double fault of the match, and raced to a 3-0 lead with nearly indecent urgency. An unreturned serve and a thumping backhand cross-court victor saved the break points and an ace and another unreturned serve secured the victory.
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But again Murray’s poise eluded him, a slip on the grass proving sufficient distraction to gift Edmund another break, and the 4-2 second set lead.
