Wimbledon Men’s Final

Murray over Raonic in straight sets.

            Milos Raonic did not play as well in the final as he did when he beat Roger Federer in the semis.  He did not serve as well, move as well, or hit as consistently off the ground.  Still, he played hard, and played well enough to beat many top pros.

            His play was nowhere near good enough to beat Murray, however, who played the best tennis that I’ve ever seen him play.  His serve was dominating, with his second serve being unusually strong; his defense was its usual amazing self, his passing shots were phenomenal, his movement was crisp, and his tactical decision- making was flawless.  I’ve always thought of Murray as the “soft” member of the big four, but he could have beaten anyone today. 

            One thing that I think would have helped Raonic is if he’d been slightly less aggressive at the start of the match.  A few extended rallies early would have helped him settle in to his first major finals match, and he would have also had a chance to assess Murray’s tendencies off the ground.  I couldn’t help feeling that he didn’t have an effective enough plan for this match.  For example, while is overall plan to approach the net was sound, he repeatedly did so on approach shots, like the slice to the backhand, that Andy ate for lunch. 

            Raonic says he wants to be back, and his successful navigation of a very tough road to this final engenders optimism that he will indeed be in another major final down the road.  He didn’t win this one, but he has plenty to be proud of, and it goes without saying that he will get right back to work on the practice court.  For his part, Murray has established himself as one of the true greats of the modern game.  I can’t think of him as the “soft fourth” of the big four any more