Wimbledon 2016: Canada's Milos Raonic defeats Roger Federer, makes final

Ray Slover

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Wimbledon 2016: Canada's Milos Raonic defeats Roger Federer, makes final image

Canada's Milos Raonic won his way into the Wimbledon championship match on Friday with a stirring comeback victory over tennis legend Roger Federer.

One set from elimination, Raonic staved off defeat in the fourth set and dominated the fifth. The score: 6-3, 6-7 (7), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.


Milos Raonic (Getty Images)

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Raonic will Britain's Andy Murray in Sunday's title match. Murray won Friday's second semifinal match 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 over Tomas Berdych.

"I was struggling through the third and fourth set," Raonic said in a post-match interview. "He was playing some really good tennis. On a little opening I managed to turn it around." 

As for Sunday: "I've got to put all my impact in," Raonic said. "It's a great feeling to be continuing and give myself a chance."

On Saturday, Serena Williams faces Germany's Angelique Kerber in the women's championship match. It's a replay of this year's Australian Open final, which Kerber won.

"I'm not going to think about that match," Williams told media members on Thursday. "It was another match and it was another Serena. I want to see Kerber against the real Serena, and we'll see the result."

With Novak Djokovic eliminated early, Murray is the top remaining men's seed at No. 2. Federer was No. 3. Raonic was No. 6, Berdych No. 10.

Raonic's mission was to reach a Grand Slam final for the first time. This was his second Wimbledon semifinal.

At 25, Raonic is the first Canadian man to reach a Wimbledon title match. Eugenie Bouchard was a women's finalist in 2014. The only other Canadian man in a Grand Slam final was Greg Rusedski in 1997's U.S. Open, but he was playing as a Briton.

"I showed a lot of emotion out there, always positive, and I had one of my best matches of my career," Raonic said Friday.

Two years ago, Federer defeated Raonic in the men's semifinals.

Murray won Britain's heart when he defeated Djokovic for the 2013 Wimbledon final. He was his nation's first Wimbledon winner since Fred Perry in 1936 and the first champion from Scotland since 1896.  

A seven-time champion at the All England Club, Federer lost for the first time in the semifinals. He came from two sets down in the quarterfinals against Marin Cilic and was close to another gritty win.

However, Raonic withstood pressure to take the fourth set and then finished the stronger and defeat the darling of Centre Court.

Four years to the day since winning his most recent Wimbledon title and a month shy of his 35th birthday, Federer might wonder if he will get a better chance to add to his 17 slam titles.

Raonic lost in straight sets to Federer in the '14 semifinals, but trademark strong serving helped him pull through.

He showed impressive resolve to save three break points in the fourth set, before taking his third chance when Federer made consecutive double faults with another breaker appearing imminent.

Federer received treatment on his right thigh ahead of the decider and was then broken to fall 3-1 down, having prompted concern with an awkward slip earlier in the same game.

Ray Slover