Murray set to miss Davis Cup tie with Serbia

ANDY Murray broke the habits of a lifetime to toast his second Wimbledon title with a boozy late night at a London night spot then said he is aiming to gatecrash Novak Djokovic’s party at the top of the world rankings. “I just spent time with my friends and my family and then we’ll go out for dinner tonight as well”. There’s nothing I want more than to be back here.

“We are a team and whether I’m playing or not I’ll always try to support”. “I played some really good stuff today”.

Murray has certainly cemented his position as clearly the second best player in the world and becoming world number one is a goal of his.

Raonic, 25, was trying to become the first player representing Canada to win a major title. The only other Canadian, man or woman, to get to a major final was Eugenie Bouchard, the women’s runner-up at Wimbledon in 2014. “Failing’s okay, providing that you’ve given your best and put everything into it”.

“I’d love to get to No1, obviously, but I think a lot of people are forgetting what Novak’s done because he lost in the third round here”. But failing’s not bad.

“I’m going to try to get fitter, stronger”. Haven’t won them all the time.

Murray said: “I don’t know what my legacy will be”.

What could have been a blockbuster tie is set to have a much more low-key feel without Murray and Djokovic. He has never been higher than two and now trails the Serb by 15,040 ranking points to 10,195.

The methodical Raonic described his fortnight as phenomenal, but was still critical of his inability to compete in the second set tiebreak having doggedly kept himself in the match. “I’ve played my best tennis under him”, Murray said.

‘Holding this bad boy makes the ice bath that little bit more bearable, ‘ the 29-year-old wrote next to a photograph of him in the ice bath on his Instagram page.

Since Murray was reunited with coach Ivan Lendl last month, the Wimbledon champion has rediscovered a grittiness to push through when the chips are down.

The match was won, though, in the two tiebreaks, where Murray was able to pull away quickly. It was his 11th time being in the finals, but for the first time, he was the favorite.

Raonic says the experience of his first grand slam final has given him greater confidence to compete for tennis’ biggest prizes in the future. “This one’s going to sting”.

Instead of charging up the stands to hug his nearest and dearest – as he had done in 2013 when he ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion – Murray slumped in his chair and sobbed into a towel just relieved to have ended a 36-month search for a third grand slam title.

A straightforward volley allowed Murray to claim the opener 6-4 with Raonic having hit just nine winners.