From ambitious extra to actual contender: Wimbledon final will not overwhelm Milos Raonic

Staring down the unenviable scoreline of 6-3 6-7(3) 4-6 6-5* 40-0 against the greatest that has ever lived, Milos Raonic would have been forgiven for feeling like his second Wimbledon semi-final was speeding from his grasp. Raonic hadn’t played poorly for just under four sets of the affair, but the momentum was firmly on Federer’s side and only the Canadian’s serve was keeping him in the match. Meanwhile, scattered behind him in his path through the match was a series of bottled chances and missed opportunities.

When Raonic navigated muddy waters and a 0-40 deficit at 3-3 in the second set to reach the tiebreak, he threw his hard work away with a double fault that robbed him of the set.

Every time Federer left the door open in the subsequent set, with break points or second serves while trailing 0-30, Raonic refused to step through and let him off the hook. There was fair reason to believe that the Canadian should have led two sets to love, but reality reflected something else.

In his four years at the forefront of the sport, these moments have played out too many times in Raonic’s most important matches. The 25-year-old’s career to date has been defined by his inability to grasp the moment and excel on the biggest stages. By no means has he ever been mentally soft, but the big moments would pass him by and he had a tendency to not quite make the bus.

But this fortnight the world of tennis is in London, where the buses always come two at a time, the Canadian was presented with an unexpected second opportunity in the match. At that score of 6-3 6-7(3) 4-6 6-5* 40-0, everything changed in the blink of an eye. From 40-15, Federer served two double faults in succession. The challenger needed no extra invitation, rising back into the match with a series of violent and effective returns. Out of nowhere he stole the set from Federer to take the match into a fifth set. Then he rode the wave to victory, never looking back.

The big topic surrounding Raonic from the beginning of the grass season was his appointment of John McEnroe as a coaching consultant to an already overflowing team that includes esteemed coach Riccardo Piatti and former world number one Carlos Moya. As Raonic jokingly referred to himself as “the CEO of Milos Raonic Tennis”, the constant hiring of these new supercoach employees led plenty to suggest that there were too many cooks in the kitchen.

Raonic’s breakthrough is the soundest rebuttal that he could have laid down, and he particularly credited McEnroe and co. with helping him to find his voice. Raonic had previously always conducted his on-court business quietly and a silent Raonic was regarded his deadliest form, but the 25-year-old was overwhelmingly positive throughout the match and he constantly spoke about being “vocal”. Unsurprisingly, it was something the most vocal tennis player in the history of the sport has been pushing for.

“I think [McEnroe’s] definitely put an emphasis on it,” explained Raonic. “A lot of times I felt in matches that I need to sort of calm myself down to let things from getting out of control. [He said]: ‘You tend to be too calm, so try to get energy out of you, try to get it out of you on court and leave it all out there, try to get the most out of yourself.’”

Raonic finally got the most out of himself on the biggest stage of his career, and the big-serving Canadian finally reaching a first Grand Slam final is particularly significant because it is an achievement he was always explicitly pointing towards. Since his rise to relevance, Raonic has established himself as one of the most ambitious players on the tour, fully backing himself off the court even when the results never materialised on-court.

In a sport where the players beneath the big four have been constantly criticised when they appear to have accepted their inferiority and relax in the comfort of their top 10 spots, Raonic has been more vocal than any recent player about his intention of breaking that glass ceiling and establishing himself alongside the greatest players of his generation. Today, bits of that glass are lying shattered on the floor, moving him closer to that ultimate goal. Raonic’s victory represents the fact that the distance between his ambition and his actions have finally been bridged.

Such is his ambition, after recording the greatest victory of his career, Raonic didn’t even allow himself time to savour it. Before he had even left the court, the Canadian’s immediate response to his triumph was to look straight past the elation most players usually reserve for this situation and looks straight towards the thought of competing in his first slam final.

“[My thoughts] quickly also shifted to, okay, let's get the things in order, let's get myself ready to play the final here,” he said.

And he can’t be blamed. Despite Andy Murray’s great form as he unsurprisingly marched through Tomas Berdych in straight sets, Raonic has nothing to be afraid of against the Scot. At this year’s Australian Open the Canadian swarmed and threatened to topple the world No.2 before injury struck and he should have put him away in the final set of their Queen’s encounter. On Sunday, Raonic will get another bite at Murray. And considering how early he started his preparations, the expectation is that he’ll be ready.