Wimbledon: Men’s final preview: Andy Murray v Milos Raonic

The win makes Raonic the first Canadian man to ever reach a Slam final.

Marin Cilic will feel he should have beaten Federer in the quarterfinals having held three match points, with the latter now likely thinking he should have prevailed against sixth seed Raonic. Although he saved it, Federer was broken later in the game following a riveting exchange near the net that culminated with Raonic’s forehand passing shot.

Playing Raonic rather than perennial crowd favourite Federer means Murray is guaranteed to have virtually the whole of Centre Court behind him.

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.

Sure, it’s hard to be critical when going down to the likes of Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and Federer, but the 2010 Wimbledon finalist will be hoping he adds a few more to the “W” column in the future.

In the quarter-final, Raonic came up against Sam Querry and he was once again tested but he came through it in four sets. In the end, the Canadian would record 23 aces and 75 winners.

Meanwhile, Kerber will seek to claim another upset win over Serena to become the first German woman to clinch Wimbledon since Graf in 1996.

After that break, Federer called for a trainer on the changeover and had his right thigh massaged.

Raonic has been taken the distance on two occasions – against Federer and in coming back from two sets to love down to beat David Goffin in the third round and promises to be ultra-aggressive against Murray on Sunday.

McEnroe said that Raonic’s game plan had been to serve at the body and keep the ball as much as possible away from the Federer backhand.

But if, for once, the dice seem to have rolled nicely for Murray, with his big rivals taken out by other players, there is no doubt Raonic poses a big threat.

The world No.2’s emphatic victory over Raonic crowned a ideal summer reunion with supercoach Ivan Lendl and continued the most consistent burst of his career, including a run of five straight finals for the first time. Federer saves match point with a 40-0 win in the game after.

“It’s definitely a great feeling from many different aspects”, said Milos Raonic in his semifinal press conference.

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.

“There were also a couple of matches (against Murray), the one at the US Open, which was a bit unlucky for me”. There’s things that all players will do differently depending on whether they’re playing on clay rather than grass.

“When Craig Kardon and I coached Martina Navratilova, she wasn’t allowed to look at us”. But I think it’s a pretty special recognition to the state of Canadian tennis.

Before Wimbledon, Murray faced Raonic in the final at Queen’s club and it turned out to be a fantastic match. Federer has had a tough season so far, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open before pulling out of Rolland Garros due to a back injury.

Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych traded early breaks in the Wimbledon semifinals. He was able to deflect two of Berdych’s three break point tries.

There are no such issues this time and surely only an attack of nerves can stop the Scot from justifying favouritism and rewarding outright backers at [4.3] when he takes on Milos Raonic on Sunday afternoon.

Fans fancying a flutter on a Murray win have seen bookmakers offer the shortest odds for any major final he has been in.