Andy Murray met Milos Raonic in the 2016 Wimbledon Championships final. This was their tenth meeting and Murray's seventh victory. In a match that pegged one of the best returners against one of the best servers, it was the returner who emerged victorious, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), in two hours, 48 minutes. The story of the match was Raonic's inability to find break point chances while his opponent had seven. Some dominant play in the tiebreaks also paved the way for a British victor in his home country.
Murray strikes first
Raonic served first, and he immediately came out firing; all five of his first serves clocked in at over 135 mph en route to a hold at 15. In response, Murray held at 15 himself before seeing the first break point chance of the match. At 30-30, the Canadian floated a backhand long to open the door for his British adversary. To no surprise, it was a big serve that saved Raonic and set up a forehand to save the break. He had no problem holding after that. The next three games went relatively quickly with the returner only winning a total of two points.
In the last game before the balls were switched, Raonic's game began to falter of ever so slightly. It was enough of a dip, however, for Murray to find two break points after a missed inside-out forehand. The first break point was saved after the Brit missed a backhand passing shot long; the second went the way of the second seed as a poor approach followed by a volley into the net gave the match its first break. Murray now lead, 4-3. Consolidating the break with a hold after a single deuce brought the score to 5-3. Despite holding one more time, the sixth seed couldn't break back. Murray took the first set, 6-4.
Murray dominates tiebreak
It took just seven points for Raonic to get his first scare of the set. At deuce, the Canadian double-faulted to gift Murray a chance to break. The Brit drove a forehand into the net, and Raonic was back in the clear. He finished off the hold with a skillfully-played low volley and a series of well-placed forehands. After five more holds without a break point or deuce, the seventh game had both. Two deuces in, Murray hit a backhand pass perfectly on the forehand wing to find another break point. A smart backhand volley saved it, though, once again. Firing a big ace, Raonic regained the lead, and an error from Murray finished the game—making the score 4-3, favoring the 25-year-old.
At 30-30 in the ninth game, Murray stuck in his thumb and pulled out another break point; he chipped that one into the net. He then followed it with a forehand winner that barely caught the line, and promptly drove another break point chance into the net. While Murray was doing a remarkable job returning Raonic's serve—that finally started to get some heat behind it—he didn't do enough. The world number seven fired off two big serves and held on for another game. The set then remained on serve for the last three games—setting up a tiebreak that could put the match out of reach.
Murray quickly got the mini-break on Raonic's first serve and rode it to a 3-0 lead. Raonic finally got on the board with an overhead smash, but he wouldn't score again until he faced quintuple set point, down 1-6. Two big serves that weren't returned to sender gave the Canadian a breath of life at 3-6, but his British opponent wasted no time whipping an unreturned serve down the tee. Murray took the tiebreak, 7-3, and, with it, the set.
Murray takes another tiebreak and the championship
The first four games were played in rather ho-hum fashion. Neither player was able to get more than two points in a game on return. In the fifth game, Raonic saw his first break points of the match. It took him well over two hours, but at 15-40, the Canadian was given a glimmer of hope. The first break point lasted only a few seconds as Murray's serve out wide was returned into the net. An unforced backhand error gave the other one back. With his opponent at bay, Murray won the last two points with a beautiful backhand pass down the line and another unreturned serve.
Mirroring the previous set, neither player was unable to grab a break, and, at 6-6, the match went to its second tiebreak. The déjà vu continued as Murray blazed through the tiebreak. He was so dominant that he didn't give up a point until he hit a backhand into the net on the sixth point. Unfortunately for Raonic, he would only see one more point for the rest of the match. Murray rode a 7-2 tiebreak win to a 2016 Wimbledon Championships.
After the match, Raonic vowed, "as these courts are green" that he would return next year.
As for Murray, this will be his third Major won after winning the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon Championships. He also looked to the future—ending his victory speech with, "I'll see you next year."