Milos Raonic warned Andy Murray he has "an even bigger tool set" to do battle with in Sunday's Wimbledon final just three weeks after losing to the world number two at Queen's. Sixth seed Raonic beat the great Roger Federer in a five-set classic at the All England Club on Friday to reach his first grand slam final before Murray saw off Tomas Berdych in straight sets.
Two-time major champion Murray came from a set down to beat Raonic and claim a record fifth title at Queen's last month, the latest of five consecutive victories against the world number seven. The 2013 Wimbledon champion got the better of Raonic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open this year and will be aiming to prevent a third grand slam final defeat of 2016 this weekend.
But Raonic, the first Canadian man to reach a major final, said he is a different proposition now as he reaps the rewards of hiring John McEnroe and Carlos Moya. The Montenegro-born powerhouse said: "I think the biggest challenge for me, which I felt was the thing I want to happen the least, or repeat itself the least from Queen's, is I got sucked into his game.
"I didn't play on my terms.That's going to be the most important thing for me." He added: "I felt I was doing a lot of things well [at Queen's]. I was putting the pieces together. I was just hoping they would make some good music for me at that point. It's come together nicely. "There's obviously been bumps throughout this week. I've overcome a lot of different things. Those things have made me stronger.
"Now I have an even bigger tool set to sort of face that challenge on Sunday than I did a few Sundays ago." Raonic said he has learned the lessons from his loss to second seed Murray in Melbourne as he prepares for the biggest match of his career. The big-serving 25-year-old stated: "The disappointment I've sort of put behind me. At least I've tried to. But I feel like I was playing some great tennis back then.
"I feel like I'm playing better tennis now.. I just want to keep sort of moving forward. I have a challenge ahead of me. I think what happened then, obviously I'll look back, try to understand what I did well, what didn't go so well for me, and try to move forward."
Murray can count on great backing on Centre Court in his home grand slam and the Scot is relishing the occasion as he attempts to put the disappointment of losing to Novak Djokovic in the last two slam finals behind him.
He said: "Maybe now I am more excited to reach a major final than when I was younger. I guess the tournaments start to mean more to you the older you get and you start to appreciate the history of the events probably more.
"When you're 18, 19, you're probably not as aware about those things. So it never feels normal. I never take it for granted. I know how difficult it is to make the finals of these events and how hard they are to win."
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