WIMBLEDON, Britain — Andy Murray has unquestionably had his significant minutes, none superior to anything turning into the main English man to win Wimbledon in 77 years.
In any case, there is a dull side to his profound keeps running in the competitions that matter most. No man in the about 50 years of open tennis has played such a large number of Fantastic Hammer singles finals while winning so few. Murray’s 2-8 record is because of the enormous drive and ability of two men: Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who between them have been his rivals in each of the 10 of his past real finals.
Be that as it may, the eleventh will have a profoundly distinctive look. On Sunday, when Murray walks — Murray is a trudger — onto Center Court for his most recent Wimbledon last, the enormous man over the net will be Milos Raonic.
The 6th seeded Raonic, who thumped out Federer on Friday in a five-set elimination round, is no long-shot newcomer. With his booming serve and expert methodology, he has been a youthful risk on the ascent for a considerable length of time. Amid the 2011 Australian Open, Andy Roddick’s hard-charging operator, Ken Meyerson, who kicked the bucket much excessively youthful soon thereafter, pulled me aside on his approach to watch Raonic and said, “With this current child’s serve and amusement, he’s a future Great Hammer contender.”
So it has turned out, yet in the time of Federer, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Murray, the street to the top is cleared with sweat, persistence and a major company.
Raonic, who is 25, has now paid his contribution (and, it is trusted, his three mentors), and this will be his first significant last, which is additionally one of a few reasons the second-seeded Murray should be the top pick.
Another is that Murray — whose returning and counterpunching are second just to Djokovic’s — has beaten Raonic in their last five matches, including the Ruler’s Club last on an adjacent patch of London grass a month ago.
Tennis, similar to life, is a repetitive matter. Seven-time Wimbledon champions fall and new contenders adapt to present circumstances existing conditions.
However, in light of all the Excellent Hammer disappointment and desire that the 29-year-old Murray still harbors in his prime, it appears a decent wager that Raonic’s hardest errand at the current year’s Wimbledon lies in front of him, not behind him.
