Milos Raonic has always tirelessly worked on improving every aspect of his game. From using a mouth-guard to better align his spine, to hooking up with John McEnroe at the start of the grass-court season, the Canadian superstar reached his second Wimbledon semifinal on Wednesday, July 6.
In his quarterfinal match, Raonic downed Sam Querrey, the man who had cleared the path to the semis by taking out the game’s best player Novak Djokovic in the third round.
Milos called his latest victory a “well deserved win” and said it’s exciting and humbling at the same time to reach his second Wimbledon semifinal.
The Canadian was flawless except for a hiccup at the end of the third set. “Best match I’ve played all the way through, other than a span of three games,” Raonic said in his postgame press conference. Peter Fleming, tennis commentator and former doubles partner of McEnroe said early in the third set, “This is the best tennis I’ve seen Milos Raonic play.”
Raonic hit 58 winners, committed only 16 unforced errors, and faced only two break points. He won 74 percent of points at the net and 71 percent of his second serve points.
Gaining Steam
Raonic sowed the seeds of his Wimbledon run at the Queen’s Club warmup in late June. He started his run to the final with a come-from-behind win over Australian bad boy Nick Kyrgios. Raonic had lost his last three matches—including Wimbledon 2015—against the rising star so that was a hoodoo exorcism of sorts.
In the final, Raonic was up a set and a break against world No. 2 Andy Murray before capitulating. It would have been Milos’ biggest scalp in a final. He defeated Roger Federer earlier this year in Brisbane, which showed he can beat the game’s elite when the stakes are highest.
Milos appears to be showing more emotion on court and a greater desire to come to the net. He’s a very capable volleyer and against Querrey, and he showed how effective his backhand slice approach can be.
