No fire no emotion – just stoic robotic Raonic – he’s down a set and on serve in the second and just saved break point and closed out a very tough service game for 5-4 but expressed nothing despite playing two excellent points – a slam at net and a big serve winner – it was the perfect opportunity for Raonic to roar like a lion king and show he means business and wants this more than Andy does – But it’s Andy who looks and sounds like he desperately wants this title to a greater degree than the robotic and android-like Raonic – it always boils down to who wants it more —
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Andrew Miller · July 10, 2016 at 11:06 am
Murray, 2 sets to zero. Raonic is having his hat handed to him. It’s obvious Raonic isn’t fresh. We’ll see what he’s made of now. Unless he is a better problem-solver than we give him credit for, cookie cutter Raonic is going to be raising the plate in under an hour as runner up.
Yeah, that means my prediction is completely wrong.
Dan’s right.
Andrew Miller · July 10, 2016 at 12:33 pm
Lendl wins. Murray, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. Dan’s reality IS reality. Raonic is no slam champ.
Jg · July 10, 2016 at 1:21 pm
I picked Raonic to win, but he didn’t go out big, didn’t serve big and didn’t listen to his coach to approach up the middle, he got passed left and right when he approached to the sides, the one time he did approach up the middle he hit an easy volley. I hope he gets another shot, it’s hard to win that first one, took Murray a while.
Jg · July 10, 2016 at 1:26 pm
He had some big serves but not in tie break or consistently. I see Querry backed out of Newport
Andrew Miller · July 10, 2016 at 3:46 pm
Raonic got shook up by sterling Murray play. Probably thought it would be a contest of attrition. Instead it was all performance. Didn’t get that Murray was ready to blow the cover off the ball. Yeah, he got whooped. We call that a beat down.
Raonic did amazing to get the final. No small achievement. But he isn’t a champion. Maybe he needs to work this out in Davis Cup, in a forum that calls for huge performances so he can work the kinks out. He will need a huge summer. I don’t see it.
Andrew Miller · July 10, 2016 at 3:49 pm
Credit Murray, ready to throw it down. He looked what, best we’ve seen him play. Contest ready made for him, sharp returns passing shots. Serving huge himself. And he slammed again.
I said Murray would have a big year. I said this last year, that he was the only guy lining it up, showing he was still relevant. He caught a lucky break with Djokovix out then got Lendl back. And pulled it off again.
Andrew Miller · July 10, 2016 at 6:34 pm
Saw final set. Raonic too contained. First, gotta go for the returns. Second, too contained. Waiting for this guy to roar. Look at Murray, so fired up and then sobbing after the match. We got none of that from Raonic. No one in the crowd for him.
Need that guy to start roaring. Reminded me of the subdued Monica Seles in her final versus Graf.
Scoop Malinowski · July 10, 2016 at 6:59 pm
Andy clearly wanted it more – Raonic was a zombie – could have been the situation of nerves combined with being the outsider with Andy getting all the support – Raonic needed to show he wanted it desperately and that this was life and death – willing to die out there willing to do anything willing to get down and dirty willing to dig down deep willing to unleash his inner beast – but nope – Raonic played with the poise and composure like it was just any old match – it was not – he had to approach this with a different mindset and far greater intensity – I think Raonic was afraid to show his burning desire because he didn’t want to offend anyone – but “to be the best you have to be willing to get blood on your hands” (Phil Anselmo quote) – it was Andy who showed all the intensity and fire and being a man possessed to win roaring like a lion – Andy is a great champion and deserved this title – Raonic too deserved it and will be a great champion when his time comes –
Andrew Miller · July 10, 2016 at 8:31 pm
Raonic was all bundled up. His box, didn’t have his girlfriend either. Compare that with Djokovic and the world’s best supporter, or Federer Mirka, or Murray and Kim, or whoever and whoever.
Raonic…once again a victim of wanting it too badly. The guy needs folks who give him the right messages and the right support when he needs it so he can tear away momentum from other players.
I thought we saw a fired up Raonic in Australia. We did I think. All the sudden, back in the box. It was as if the last seven months didn’t happen.
John McEnroe didn’t like it, he didn’t like seeing Raonic all in himself. He wanted some fire from the guy. Heck I did too.
Tell you what, I think I said this, and it’s like throwing darts, but I thought Murray winning Davis Cup last year was going to position him for a slam this year.
Murray just knows what the pressure is like. he knows he will win or lose. I think he was just ready to take it. And I dont think Raonic was prepared to take it.
Andrew Miller · July 10, 2016 at 8:37 pm
Willing to die out there? Yes I think Raonic showed that. I just didn’t see enough of what brought him here. I thought he should have stayed back a bit at the back-court and given Murray some of his own medicine, like Becker used to do with Lendl when he decided to win a slam from the back court.
Then follow it in and put it away. Make Murray feel like (a) Murray couldn’t win it from the baseline and (b) that Raonic was going to pressure Murray everywhere. I don’t think we saw him rip away any thing. I don’t think Murray felt pressured at all.
Murray had pressure, but it was what he put on himself. Not much of the pressure Raonic could have put on Murray, that would have made Murray feel like Murray would fold. I think Murray’s pressure was just to guide the match toward s the already written conclusion. No drama at all.
But Murray for sure, won it. Straight up took it. He took the prize there to take. I don’t think Raonic got that, I think Raonic thought well, I made it – I’ll just do what I did to make it here. He didn’t see it as a blank slate. It wasn’t like Nadal, in the fifth set with Federer at the Australian Open in 2009, where Federer did all the heavy lifting to get to the fifth set, only to see Nadal just apply pressure every game and step on the pedal to the winners trophy while Federer collapsed.
It was more like Murray made Raonic feel like he had no shot, was doing well enough just to make tiebreaks rather than break service games.
Sadly not enough courage in this specific outing from Raonic.
I think he has it in him. But McEnroe will have to beat it out of him. Call him a journeyman or something.
Andrew Miller · July 10, 2016 at 8:40 pm
If Raonic hit a few more huge returns, I think that would’ve given him some energy and taken some away from Murray. Didn’t happen.
Scoop Malinowski · July 10, 2016 at 9:45 pm
Loved Andy’s fiery roar after first set – Raonic should have roared when he had that big hold late in the second after saving the break point – but nothing not even a whimper just a blank stoic no-reaction after that huge hold – I knew then it was over – Andy was like a young Hewitt out there – it was his court his day – Raonic was like the invited guest totally deferential to the star of the court Andy The Great –
Andrew Miller · July 11, 2016 at 11:21 am
Why Lendl is amazing and Murray too. Quotes from today’s NYT. Credit to Christopher Clarey
On Murray: “But Murray’s deep and undisguised internal drive has been as important to his success as his foot speed and phenomenal ball-striking talent.”
From Lendl: “With a server like Milos, you can’t let up for one second,” Lendl said. “Just imagine if Milos breaks early in the third and wins the tiebreak in the fourth. We’re still out there. There was just one break of serve the entire match. The focus Andy had today was fantastic.”
Look at what Lendl said. That’s the coaching you get from Lendl – pure quality and focus. He likely instructed Murray (1) to serve big and hold strong and (2) to put obscene pressure on Raonic’s serve and make Raonic feel like there’s no in.
That translated to the tiebreaks, which Murray ran away with. Probably because Raonic felt pressure to hold, and had low to no chances to break. This wasn’t like Nadal erasing tons of break points. This was “no way in”.
You have to appreciate, to me at least, Lendl’s focus on making Raonic feel like he had no answers – even if he didn’t admit this to the press and the crowd, you can tell Raonic was contained. Who put him in his own head and kept him there?
Lendl. Lendl told Murray how to do this. How to make Raonic feel like there were no options. How he would be under pressure on his serve and how his games holding would be too close for comfort. How breaking Murray would feel like a chore.
Suddenly, it is a chore. That feeling inside becomes the reality of the match. It’s hard. Making headway in a tiebreak seems impossible. And then it is.
This was like Nadal some years back. You got to hand it to Lendl – he was a far better player then we credit him. Can you imagine Moya providing that kind of psychological approach?
I can’t. McEnroe for sure knows this, was hinting at it, went through the broadcast talking about what Raonic must be thinking about and what he could focus on. And I think McEnroe at some level felt he should have said something else to Raonic going into the match. That maybe he didn’t talk to him about Lendl’s approach to coaching.
Lendl had said, “this isn’t me vs McEnroe”
Whatever. The false modesty is taking away from a rich context. Where Murray, who’s training like a fiend, is also receiving superior preparation on the mental side.
LENDL WINS WIMBLEDON AGAIN. GETS BROODING MURRAY TO MAKE RAONIC BROOD.
Dan markowitz · July 11, 2016 at 6:10 pm
Spadea thinks if Lendl had been Murray’s coach from beginning he’d have won 8 slams by now like Agassi. Murray is 3-0 with Lendl in slam finals and 0-8 w/out him.
Andrew Miller · July 11, 2016 at 8:47 pm
Murray/Lendl lost 2012 wimby to fed. Spadea might want to check the scoreboard on that one. Lendl was with Murray and coached to a loss, Federers last slam title to date.
Andrew Miller · July 11, 2016 at 8:53 pm
I don’t think Spadea I right either on Murray winning every final. For one Lendl wouldn’t have taken the position unless he saw a player like himself who couldn’t will himself into the winners circle at slams. He saw a problem he himself solved. I think that’s what made it work, Murray knows Lendl lost slams before he won them, and Lendl knew Murray had too, and they worked on that understanding. Plus lots of dough.
I think personally Murray would have won a slam with Gilbert and I think Roddivk would have gotten slam#2 with Gilbert. Gilbert got Murray to play a more tactical game that used murrays famous guile but match it with big hitting where necessary. Gilbert got Roddick to stay in the point when necessary and pull the big shot when needed. He did some of his best coaching to see Roddick through to the us open 2003 title as well as Murray to his own slam final against Federer in 2008.