Milos Raonic enters the upcoming Wimbledon Championships with a fresh burst of confidence following his run at the Aegon Championships.
The fast-serving Canadian, who never played on a grass-court until the age of 17, entered new territory this week by reaching his first final on the surface at the Queen’s Club. He achieved the milestone in style by winning 47 consecutive service games before coming unstuck in the final against five-time champion Andy Murray.
Raonic’s week was also the first test of his new collaboration with former world No.1 John McEnroe. Many had reservations about the partnership due to the two men being so different on the court, but this week the world No.9 has cast aside the critics with his London performance.
“I think I’m doing a lot of things much better than I have done on this surface, that’s for sure,” the 25-year-old said.
“I think I’m getting other things going as well. I think I’m constantly improving.”
Proceedings on the court are improving for Raonic, but there is still far to go. In Sunday’s final he was on the verge of winning his ninth title when he lead top seed Murray 7-6(5), 3-0, before succumbing in three sets. Reflecting on his performance, the Canadian acknowledges his flaws, but is certain that there was more positives than negatives.
“I can learn from today quickly,” he declared. “Even right now I could say what the clear points that made the difference were.”
“I think overall I did things pretty well.”
The impressive battle displayed by Raonic, has sent alarm bells ringing for Murray ahead of the third grand slam of the year at SW19. During the award ceremony, the world No.9 seemingly joked about a Wimbledon rematch against Murray, however, his comments wasn’t intended to make the crowd laugh.
“I wasn’t joking. I would like to be there on a Sunday at Wimbledon (in the final).” Raonic stated.
“That would mean something significant, it it is against Andy, I think it would be a great thing.”
It isn’t just the Montenegrin-born player that thinks he can do damage at the pinnacle grass-court event, world No.2 Murray also believes that he could be a serious contender for the title.
“He’s beaten some top players in the slams. I would imagine that on the quicker courts, that he would always be there or about because of his game style and he is always willing to learn, trying to improve.” Murray said on Raonic’s Wimbledon chances.
“He gives himself more opportunities to get to the later stages of the grand slams more often than not, I would think.”
As Wimbledon nears, the severity of the Raonic threat intensifies. He is already a two-time grand slam semifinalist, but this time round there is a growing belief that the 25-year-old could cause a big upset in the later stages of a major tournament. Things are on the up for Raonic, a good sign for him, but a bad sign for his rivals.
