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Those who like their tennis gasp-makingly unpredictable from one rally to the next had a fine old time of it in the first men’s semi-final of Wimbledon 2016.
Milos Raonic became the first Canadian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final, when he overhauled Roger Federer in five nerve-jangling sets on the Centre Court.
In a tussle which see-sawed one way and then the other, Raonic leapt out of the starting gate with stylish authority, only for the seven-time champion to take control with a two-sets-to one lead. At the start of the fourth set, three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe – who joined Raonic’s coaching team last month – told BBC viewers listening to his match commentary: “Now we’ll find out what Milos is made of.”
Prophetic words – yet typically of this capricious encounter, it was Federer who had three chances for what would surely have been a decisive break, before Raonic himself snatched the set at the death. Come the decider, a wondrous exchange saw the No.6 seed go a break up, and he held on to triumph 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in three hours and 25 minutes.
“That’s an incredible comeback for me,” grinned Raonic as he came off the court. “I was struggling through the third and fourth sets, and with just a little opening I managed to turn around.
The impact of being Canada’s first-ever finalist will be bigger if I can win the title. I have to focus on that, put all my energy into that. John [McEnroe] told me to go out there and leave it all out there, and that’s what made the biggest difference.”
This was Federer’s 11th Wimbledon semi-final, and the first in which he has ever experienced defeat. Already the oldest semi-finalist in 42 years, the 34-year-old Swiss was bidding to become the oldest to reach the last two, also for 42 years (both records previously the preserve of Ken Rosewall in 1974). But maybe all Federer has endured this year – with knee surgery and back trouble, and the resulting lack of match practice – was just too much; and perhaps he was carrying the effects of his stunning quarter-final comeback from two sets down against Marin Cilic.
And yet… And yet… Those three break points Federer held in the fourth set will surely keep him awake when he thinks of what might have been. He had worked so hard to overturn Raonic’s serene start, irked but ultimately unruffled by the Canadian’s abnormally long bathroom break at the end of the second set. Surging through the third set and deep into the fourth, the Swiss seemed more energised with every stroke, while his 25-year-old opponent was running out of ideas.
On serve Raonic could remember nothing but Plan A – blast everything – and he was obligingly going for Federer’s forehand too often. At 2-2 Federer hustled him into two break points, yet he dug deep for a gritty hold; and he had to do it again at 4-4 after sending the ball wide for another break point. Fingernails were in short supply on the Centre Court, as the set was one point short of the tie-break with Federer at 40-0 – but from there Raonic battered his opponent until Federer chose the wrong shot at the net on set point, to allow the Canadian to pass.
It was all going on – the trainer came on court to massage Federer’s right thigh while Raonic took another bathroom break; and the trainer reappeared briefly to tend to Federer’s left knee when he fell flat on his face at 1-2 as he lunged in vain at a pass.
The intensity of the battle required an extraordinary moment to break the deadlock, and it came with a marvellous nip-and-tuck rally which saw Raonic finally find a way past for 3-1. He turned to his box in celebration, to see co-coach Carlos Moya tapping the side of his head, instructing his charge to take it point by point and not assume victory was secure. But it was. Federer never had another chance, and the day belonged to Milos Raonic.
