Murray was on the ropes for a set and a half in west London, but the world No. 2 staged a gritty revival to surpass a group of eight four-time Queen’s champions including John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. The Scot pulled himself back from the brink of defeat -something he is making a habit of – to seal a stunning 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 win and a record fifth Queen’s title.
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As well as being the first meeting on grass for Murray and Raonic, Sunday was the first time that Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe have met as coaches.
On the court-side, two former champions McEnroe and Ivan Lendl – two-time winners in 1989 and 1990 stood for their wards Raonic and Murray respectively.
Andy Murray was planning his Wimbledon title challenge just two hours after becoming the first man to win the Queen’s Club title for a fifth time.
Raonic led by a set and 3-0 before Murray became the first player this week to break the Canadian’s serve, doing so twice in succession.
Murray, who was joined at Queen’s by wife Kim and daughter Sophia Olivia for the first time since her birth in February, said: “The plan is to rest on Tuesday and Saturday. But my serve worked well in the last two sets”.
Raonic is already ready to face off against Murray in the Wimbledon final, per Les Roopanarine of the Guardian: “Hopefully we can have a rematch a couple of Sundays from now I’m feeling pretty good out here, it’s good progress I’ve made this week…hopefully I can continue”. “He stepped it up after that and came up with an incredible return on the first break point chance he had”.
Murray has previously only won the title, which acts as preparation for Wimbledon, in odd years after triumphing in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Meanwhile, Raonic beat Australian Bernard Tomic with an easy 6-4 6-4 win.
It was a blow to Murray having played a good first set and Raonic appeared to land the killer blow with a break at the start of the second. Murray at one stage enjoyed a run of 15 straight points on his own serve in a set which featured some enterprising tennis but little in the way of genuine drama – that is until the tie-break which would decide it.
“It’s a tournament that obviously means a lot to me”, Murray said. “I’m aware he’s achieved way, way more than me”.
Converting his first break point of the match in such clinical fashion reenergised Murray and he won five of the next six games to take the set, levelling a match that had been slipping away minutes earlier.
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“But the biggest thing is how I can make the other guy feel”. Entering the final, the Canadian was unbroken in 47 service games this week.
