The big-serving Canadian powerhouse beat Federer in five sets earlier on Friday to reach his first grand slam final and will pose a significant threat if his 140mph delivery is firing.
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Raonic took the first set from Federer in an impressive 6-3 effort, but with Federer winning the next two sets in a 7-3 tiebreaker and then 6-4, it looked like a familiar story was about to play out.
Murray’s previous Wimbledon semi-final triumphs over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jerzy Janowicz had been frenetic affairs.
Murray met the world No 7 just three weeks ago in the final at Queen’s, when he fought back to win 6-7 6-4 6-3. On a little opening I managed to turn it around.
“Obviously Roger’s won here seven times, and been in the final I think a couple more times, so any time he loses, it’s somewhat of a surprise”, said Murray.
“It’s the first time I’ll play a Slam final against someone that isn’t Roger [Federer] or Novak, so that’s different”, he added in his news conference.
Andy Murray says he now has the experience to cope with the pressure of playing in grand slam finals after progressing to his third Wimbledon showpiece.
LONDON (AP) – The 11th Grand Slam final of Andy Murray’s career will be unlike any of the others in at least one way: The opponent will not be Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic. I think actually it give a bit of extra confidence, because I know last time we worked together, it was very successful. “No, playing five sets, my matches tend to be quite quick”, Raonic said.
He carved out and converted the only break point of the first set for a 3-1 lead before unleashing the fastest serve of the tournament of 144mph (231.7km/h) in the fifth game. “The older you get you never know how many more chances you will have to play in Grand Slam finals so you want to make the best of any opportunity”, he said. “But I helped him so much to get back into that game”, he said.
That left him serving for the set and he clinched it with an ace.
“I was told that John and him (Raonic) were not working together from Sunday”, Murray said.
Raonic saved three break points in the fourth set, but with another tie-break beckoning Federer hit two successive double faults when he served at 5-6 and 40-15.
They then parted ways-Lendl wanted time away from the tennis road-show-but ahead of this year’s grass season, Murray persuaded him back to the British corner, ably supported by Jamie Delgado-and Murray promptly won his fifth Queen’s title.
Murray has beaten Raonic in six of their nine matches, including the past five meetings.
Raonic, who is the world No 7, earned his place in the final with a 6-3, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Federer, who lost in the semi-finals here for the first time. In reaching his 11th Grand Slam final Murray passed Perry’s British record of 10 following the abolition of Wimbledon’s Challenge Round in 1922.
But there was Federer, seeded third, rallying from a two-sets-to-none deficit in the quarterfinals against Marin Cilic.
As is so often the case, Murray set the tone of the contest with his return game. Federer had gone off as the -200 favourite (wager $200 to win $100) on the Wimbledon betting lines.
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Two years ago, Federer got past Raonic in straight sets in the Wimbledon semifinals. “So that’s why I feel that he can do it”. “I just feel more relaxed and more at peace than I may have been in the past”. “A big thing on his side was demeanor on the court, presence on the court”, the sixth-seeded Raonic said. That’s when he plays his best tennis when he’s engaged in the battle.
