Milos Raonic picked a hell of a time to have the match of his career.
At the semi-finals at Wimbledon—the second time he’s appeared on that stage and the furthest he had gone in a Slam during his career— and facing arguably the most iconic figure in the history of the sport, Raonic came through with a gritty 6-3, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Roger Federer.
Raonic, whose stoic, unaffected demeanor has often been described as ‘robotic’, couldn’t hold back his emotions after Federer’s ball sailed long past the baseline in the deciding point, a proud smile reaching across his face.
The win makes Raonic the first Canadian man to ever reach a Slam final. And, frankly, if anybody was to ever accomplish the feat, deep down we all knew it would be the 25 year-old from Thornhill, ON.
Raonic has been lauded as the present-and-future of tennis in this country for more than half a decade.
For the small gathering of fans in attendance at the Rogers Cup in Toronto in 2010, we were granted a brief glimpse of Raonic’s potential. Then, as the 217th-ranked player on tour Raonic, along with fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil took on Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal— then ranked no. 1 and 2 in the world— in doubles… and won. Raonic’s skill was undeniable, and his booming serve was as fierce then as it was today, but ultimately it felt more like a fluke than a sign of things to come.
Six years later, the 6’5’’ prodigy has just wrapped up his third match victory against tennis’ “Big Four” this year alone, besting Federer for the second time in 2016.
Raonic came out guns-a-blazing in the first set, running out to a commanding 4-1 lead early, but soon found himself down two sets to one against Federer, who was 10-0 in Wimbledon semi-finals heading into Friday.
The turning point was clearly in the fourth set when, down 40-love with Federer serving to tie the set at four games apiece, Raonic clawed his way back to win the game and force a fifth set that he controlled like a seasoned pro.
“It’s an incredible comeback for me,” Raonic said immediately after the match. “I was struggling in the third and fourth set… I just found a little opening and was able to turn it around. Mentally, I had one of the best matches in the history of my career,” he continued. “I think that made the biggest difference.”
There was a time not so long ago that Raonic would concede points when put under pressure. He wouldn’t consistently chase down get-able balls, seemingly content to rely on his service game to make up for lost points, and had a propensity to hit a ton of unforced errors that abruptly ended rallies that could have gone for much longer.
Not today. This was easily the most determined version of Raonic we’ve ever seen, the most fight he’s shown on a tennis court— at least on this grand a stage— and the feeling only escalated as the match wore on and the intensity built.
Raonic’s grasp of the mental game is obviously improving, but on the court he’s made considerable strides over the past year as well. To help his net game, Raonic famously brought Hall-of-Famer John McEnroe onto his coaching staff in advance of the grass court season, and you can’t imagine it paying off better than it did in Friday’s semi-finals. His serve-and-volley game was effective, allowing him to dictate Federer’s positioning with his serve and then exploit it by finding open court with his volley.
His volleying as a whole was wildly impressing, picking up shots at his feet and deftly placing them into tight spaces Federer had trouble reaching. They were the types of net shots that routinely found the net in the past, and if he can continue to consistently hit them it gives him a real shot at capturing the title on Sunday.
Raonic, the sixth seed at Wimbledon, now faces a potential rematch with second-seed Andy Murray, whose prowess on grass makes him the Willie Nelson of the ATP tour. The two met in the finals three weeks ago in the Wimbledon warm-up tourney at the Queen’s Club.
While tennis fans across Canada are no doubt jubilant with what they witnessed Friday morning, Raonic knows he’s not finished yet.
As he puts it: “I’m by no means done what I’m trying to accomplish.”