Milos Raonic hailed the influence of coach John McEnroe after reaching his first Grand Slam final.
Having claimed the opening set, Raonic lost the next two to the 17-time major winner. But he made a strong recovery to for a 6-3, 6-7 (7), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory. He is the first Canadian to reach a Grand Slam final.
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Raonic's opponent: 2013 champion Andy Murray, who will be the crowd favorite as a Briton. Murray beat Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to earn his third Wimbledon final.
"It's an incredible comeback from me really," Raonic said. "I was struggling through the third and fourth set.
"He was playing some great tennis, but I found a little opening and managed to finish it off."
McEnroe, a three-time Wimbledon winner, joined Raonic's coaching team in May to work on grass-court play. Raonic lauded the work.
"What he told me today is to leave it all out there," Raonic said. "I showed a lot of emotion out there, always positive, and I think that's what got me through. I had one of the best matches in my career and I think that's what made the biggest difference.
"He gave me plenty [of tips] that helped today, so did Carlos [Moya]. Both of them winning slams and playing in a lot of these semifinals, I hope they have a lot more to give me."
As for Sunday's final, Raonic said: "I'll try to push it down, enjoy the moment and really focus on the task at hand.
"I'm by no means done with what I want to do here, so it gives me something to keep my sight on to really try to progress and win this thing."
Saturday's women's championship match finds defending champion Serena Williams against Germany's Angelique Kerber. Williams lost to Kerber in the Australian Open final.
Raonic will need all the help and fire he can get from McEnroe, a legendary player as well known for his fiery temper and on-court tantrums as his prowess and success. Murray reached the Australian and French Open finals, in which he lost to Novak Djokovic.