After disappointing maiden major final, Raonic determined to return better than ever

LONDON— In Sunday’s Wimbledon final, it was Andy Murray's title to lose, and while first-time major finalist Milos Raonic did his best to press the Scot, Murray grabbed his second Wimbledon crown with a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) victory.

Raonic started more nervously than Murray, but he gets some leeway given the world No. 2 was playing his 11th Grand Slam final (and third Wimbledon final). The pressure on Raonic’s serve started early, as he had to save a break point in just his second service game of the match.

For the first time this fortnight, the 25-year-old's serve looked breakable, and Murray—like a shark smelling blood—could sense it. Raonic would end up hitting just eight aces, compared to the more than 20 he hit in each of his first three rounds.

“I tried to put the things together,” Raonic said. “I tried coming forward, putting pressure on him. He was playing much better than me off the baseline. He was more effective there. [I was] probably a little too passive to start the match on his service games.”

Raonic does not miss much from the baseline, but a critical inside-out shot put him down 15-40 at 3-3.  The Canadian was coming in plenty, but Murray was taking his chances and ripping some dazzling passing-shot winners. The world No. 2 got the first break for 4-3, and ran away with the set 6-4.

“I saved myself a lot of the time at the net, as well,” Raonic said. “Yeah, he's going to pass you. He moves well. He gets himself in good position. He has good hands. He has good touch.”

The crowd was, as expected, emphatically in the Scot’s corner. But Raonic has one of the strongest mental games on tour, and he channels his emotions incredibly well, letting nothing get in the way of the task at hand—even in a Grand Slam final.

“I don't think the moment ever really caught on,” Raonic said. “I think I just maybe, in a mundane way, sort of, looked at it as just another match. This match felt like a much greater opportunity than anything, but it never felt that much different than anything.”

To his credit, Murray was very composed, with less tantrums and moments of outrage from the usually combustible 29-year-old.

In the first game of the second set, Raonic let out a rare frustrated scream after a double fault at deuce, but he dug deep and saved the break chances. Saving break points was critical in his five-set win over Roger Federer in the semifinals, but doing it back-to-back was asking a lot.

“I was keeping up with him,” Raonic said. “But then when it counted, I wasn't able to get on top.”

The Scot's defensive skills forced Raonic to win the point twice or even three times, and while coming in was the right strategy, Murray was still making Raonic hit an extra volley, leading to some more passing-shot opportunities. One of the Scot’s passes set up a break chance at 3-3, but Raonic pressed the net again, this time forcing an error.

The 6'5" Canadian, though a well-oiled serving machine, isn’t as effective of a returner as Murray, who’s easily one of the best in the game. Murray would win 33 percent of points off Raonic’s first serve, while Raonic won just 13 percent off Murray’s first serve.

“He moves incredibly well,” Raonic said. “He returns well. Those are his two biggest strengths. But every single time you play him, you know he's going to get more returns back than anybody else, alongside with Novak [Djokovic].”

In the second-set tiebreaker, Raonic needed his serve to help him get easy points, but it wasn’t there until way too late. He also started with an inexplicable short slice that dumped into the net, easily his worst shot of the match.

“The first tiebreak, obviously I missed that ball—the short ball, on the first one,” Raonic said. “Wasn't even close. Missed into the middle of the net. Then I had an overhead that I didn't make the most of on my serve. I'll sort of look back at that with not too much joy.”

The Canadian didn’t even take a step after Murray hit a backhand down the line, making it 5-1, and he went on to drop the tiebreaker 7-3 somewhat meekly.

The third set began with Murray serving, putting even more pressure on Raonic’s serve. This time, though, the world No. 7 got a look at two chances to break at 2-2. But after a Murray serve saved the first, a weak Raonic slice cost him the second.

He was one step behind the Scot in the third set, having to hold at 4-5 and 5-6 to stay in the match, and he was also disadvantaged physically. (Murray defeated Berdych in three easy sets in the semifinals.)

The third-set tiebreaker, just like in the second set, went swiftly in Murray’s favor. He raced ahead 5-0 before Raonic could get on the board, and won it 7-2 to clinch his second Wimbledon title.

“He's been playing great,” Raonic said. “Guys haven't really been able to give him a true big scare. You know, he definitely deserved and earned to win this tournament.”

Though disappointed, Raonic vows to be back, stronger than ever.

“I'm going to work on everything,” he said. “I'm not going to leave any stone unturned. I'm going to try to get myself back in this position, try to be better in this position … There's not one thing that I'm not going to try to improve.”