Milos Raonic will play in his first ever grass-court final after defeating Australia’s Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-4, at the Aegon Championships.
The Canadian entered the semifinal match with a growing confidence following his three previous matches at the tournament. Following his quarter-final win over Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, he declared himself a contender for the Wimbledon title and his Saturday performance against Tomic was evidence as to why.
Cheered on at the side by new coach John McEnroe, Raonic continued his exceptional service performance at the Queen’s Club. In the opening set, the Canadian lost only three points behind his serve, winning 96% of first service points. This outstanding benchmark set by Raonic was too much for Tomic to match as he crumbled towards the business end, dropping his serve to allow the third seed to close out the set to love.
Despite Raonic’s dominance in one area of the match, it didn’t stop Tomic from being a threat. Unfortunately the breakthrough for third seed in the second set wasn’t due to his superiority, it was due to a faltering Australian. A costly double fault handed break No.2 to the Canadian. Admirably Tomic kept battling and had a chance to break back before his hopes was quashed by some more heavy serving from Raonic. The emphatic victory was secured with a speedy forehand winner down the line.
During his latest triumph, Raonic fired 12 aces and 30 winners past Tomic to continue his unbeaten streak against him.
“It’s a great point to be here, to be able to play tomorrow and to play for something big, I look forward to that challenge.” Raonic said after his win.
“There is a big one ahead of me (the final) and I feel that I will do my best to get ready.”
Raonic’s reward is a final showdown with four-time champion Andy Murray, who defeat Marin Cilic in three sets. He had beaten the world No.2 on three occasions, but he trails the head-to-head 3-5. Nevertheless, the third seed is confident that he has the ability to spoil Murray’s quest for a record-breaking fifth title at The Queen’s Club.
“I feel like I’m playing well. I’ve improved in each and every match this week and hopefully I can take another step forward in tomorrows match.” He said about the upcoming final.
Sunday’s final will be Raonic’s 18th on the ATP tour, but his first on a non-hardcourt surface.
