Agence France-Presse
London, July 9: It has turned out to be an anti-climax of sorts here at Wimbledon. They are happy that Andy Murray has again reached the final with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 demolition of Tomas Berdych, but at the same time they would have preferred the Brit facing Roger Federer instead of Canadian Milos Raonic. But then what the spectators want, really do not materialise.
Wimbledon has seen many epic battles this year. The three that comes to mind features Federer twice – his five set comeback against Marin Cilic, his loss in five sets to Raonic and Murray’s five set win against Jo Wilfried Tsonga. The final has every ingredient to be another thriller unless of course nerves hit Raonic who is playing his first Grand Slam final.
Talking about his victory over Federer, the Canadian said, that he took the chances that came his way. It was sweet revenge for Raonic who had lost in the 2014 semifinals to Federer.
“There was a little opening and I took it,” said Raonic, who is the first Canadian man to make a Grand Slam final. “It’s a big impact for Canada. Hopefully, it will be even bigger if I win Sunday. “I was struggling throughout the third and fourth sets, he was playing some real good tennis. It’s a great feeling to be continuing.”
On the evidence of his Centre Court masterclass, World No. 2 Murray will be favoured to clinch his third Grand Slam title in Sunday’s final – three years after becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.
Murray, beaten in eight of his Grand Slam finals, will hope it is third time lucky this year after losing the Australian and French Open finals to Djokovic.
Murray holds a 6-3 lead in his head to head record with Raonic and defeated the 25-year-old on grass three weeks ago in the Queen’s Club final.
“I’m very happy. To make the Wimbledon final is a good achievement. I’ve got one more (match) to go Sunday,” Murray said. “The older you get you never know how many chances you will get to play in a Grand Slam final.”
While Federer is firmly in the twilight of his glittering career, Murray is in his prime as he tries to become the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon titles since Perry in the 1930s.
The 29-year-old made just nine unforced errors in the semifinals, in contrast to 30 by the befuddled Berdych, who was powerless to halt Murray’s progress to an 11th Grand Slam final appearance – a milestone which took him ahead of Perry as the British man with the most major finals on his CV.
However, the player is not ready to rest on his laurels. “Milos is playing some of the best grass court tennis of his career. I’m aware I’ll have to play very well to win.”
Head to head
Year Event Winner Score
2012 Barcelona Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(6-3)
2012 US Open Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
2012 Tokiyo Outdoor Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-7(5-7), 7-6(6-4)
2014 Indian Wells Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
2014 ATP WT Finals Andy Murray 6-3, 7-5
2015 Madrid Masters Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5
2016 Australian Open Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(4-6), 6-4, 6-2
2016 Monte Carlo Andy Murray 6-2, 6-0
2016 Queen’s Andy Murray 6-7(5-7), 6-4, 6-3
Matches-9 Murray won-6 Raonic won-3
- The two have got one walkover against each other
