Shortly after his epic five-set victory over Roger Federer to secure his place in his first Wimbledon final, Milos Raonic sat down with the press to discuss the magnitude of his victory, as well as his mindset heading into Sunday’s final with home favourite Andy Murray.
Raonic Discusses Semifinal Victory, Redemption from Defeat to Federer at Same Stage Two Years Ago
After sealing a thrilling 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Federer, the stage belonged to Raonic, whose mindset quickly shifted from incredible delight to Sunday's final, where the Canadian will meet Great Britain’s very own Andy Murray.
“I was very self-centered at that point [once I had won],” he said. “I wasn’t really thinking about Roger. I was very focused on myself, proud of the way I was able to pull through that match.”
“You know, it quickly also shifted to, Okay, let’s get the things in order, let’s get myself ready to play the final here.”
“It’s definitely a great feeling [to earn my first victory over Roger at a Grand Slam], from many different aspects,” he later said. “Obviously what happened here two years ago, I was very disappointed with. Today I sort of persevered. I was sort of plugging away. I was struggling through many parts of the match.”
Unlike Federer, Raonic was able to make the most of his break point opportunities, converting three of eight on the day, while his Swiss counterpart only converted one of nine. One of those three breaks came at a crucial time late in the fourth set and would ultimately set the tone for the rest of the match. Leading 6-5 but down 40-0 in Federer's service game, the set seemed destined to go to a fourth-set tiebreak but to everyone's surprise, the Canadian made the most of a few uncharacteristic unforced errors from the Swiss Maestro to eventually steal the fourth set 7-5.
“He gave me a little opening towards the end of the fourth,” Raonic recounted. “I made the most of it. Then I sort of tried to run away with it. I did a lot of things well. The attitude kept me in the match. I think that's what made the biggest difference. I was quite vocal, but I was always positive. I was always looking for a solution.”
“Two years ago I bottled up all the difficulties I had on court and never got it out,” Raonic later continued. “Today I found a way to keep plugging away, keep myself in the match, then sort of turn it around.”
Raonic on Influences of Coaches Carlos Moyà and John McEnroe
Right before the grass season, Raonic hired the legendary John McEnroe, a three-time former Wimbledon champion in his prime, in order to make the necessary improvements to really excel on the grass, but McEnroe has done more than just that.
“I think [being more vocal is] something that [John and I have] all been working together at,” Raonic said. “I think he’s definitely put an emphasis on it. A lot of times I felt in matches that I need to sort of calm myself down to let things from getting out of control, I feel like when I get positive. I can get negative quickly as well.”
“He sort of implemented it in the sense of from how he’s seen me play. There’s no, Too calm for you, you tend to be too calm, try to get energy out of you, try to get it out of you on court and leave it all out there, try to get the most out of yourself.”
In addition to learning from one of the legends of the game, Raonic has two in his corner: McEnroe and former French Open champion Carlos Moyà. While McEnroe has given him more technical and tactical advice, Moyà has been a great influence to Raonic, in that he has helped him develop a better understanding of how he needs to go about things, and what he needs to get out of himself in order to maximize his potential.
“Obviously that’s been my biggest asset through this tournament and through the Queen’s tournament, especially after I finished off in Paris a bit disappointed,” Raonic said. “It’s been a great asset for me. It’s what’s helped me be as successful as I have over the last few weeks. It’s definitely the biggest step forward I’ve made.”
Raonic on Sunday's Battle with Murray
Coming into Sunday's final, Murray leads the head-to-head against Raonic, 6-3, with their latest meeting coming at the Queen’s Club a couple of weeks ago—the Brit coming from a set and a break down to deny the Canadian the victory and with it, the title.
“Well, obviously it’s a challenge [against Andy],” Raonic said. “He does a lot of things well. I think the biggest challenge for me, which I felt was the thing I want to happen the least or repeat itself the least from Queen’s, is I got sucked into his game. I didn’t play on my terms.”
“I'm up there 7-6, and I have a point for 4-1 [in the Queen’s final], I believe, in a game, I end up getting broken by a close miss. I wasn’t disappointed with that point. That can happen. I was disappointed with how I dealt with things after that. I sort of went into my shell, didn't put myself out there enough. I think that’s the thing I want to avoid the most,” he later added.