Andy Murray will be aiming to win his second Wimbledon title and third Grand Slam crown overall when he takes on Canadian big-hitter Milos Raonic in today’s men’s final. The world No 2 is the first British man to reach 11 Grand Slam finals, eclipsing a record set by Fred Perry, but for the first time he will not have to beat either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.
His 11th major appearance draws him level with three greats of the game in Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe and Mats Wilander, and his third slam final in a row.
After cruising to a comfortable 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory over Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals he will now play first-time finalist Raonic. He will now look to stage a repeat of the 2013 final when, a year after tearfully losing to Federer, Murray defeated Djokovic to end Perry’s 77-year reign as the last home men’s singles champion.
Murray has said he would “love to win it again”, adding: “For British players growing up, this is the biggest competition. To get to play in front of a home crowd in a Grand Slam final is very, very rare.”
Much will also be made of the battle going on off the court as well as on it, with Murray back working with Ivan Lendl, the coach who guided him to his two Slam titles, and Raonic now being helped by three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe.
“It’s obviously an opportunity. I put myself in a position to try and win the event again. It’s against someone new that I’m playing against in the final,” said Murray.
But the second seed won’t underestimate Raonic, who reached the final by coming from two sets to one down to defeat seven-time champion Federer.
“Milos is a very tough opponent. He’s played very well on the grass this year and has earned his right to the final by beating one of the best, if not the best, player ever at this event.”
Having faced Djokovic in seven major finals and Federer, who beat Murray in his first Wimbledon final in 2012, in the other three, Murray will take a 6-3 lead in his head-to-head record with Raonic into the final.
He will be buoyed by defeating the 25-year-old on grass three weeks ago in the Queen’s Club final, 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3, and Murray also came back from two sets to one down to beat the big Canadian in the semi-finals in the Australian Open in January.
