Milos Raonic paid a warm tribute to the man who denied him victory in his first Grand Slam final, but immediately promised that he and others will be seeking to close the gap to the quartet who have dominated men’s tennis for more than a decade.
Andy Murray has, along with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, been part of a group that has something approaching a hegemony at the top of the sport since 2005, with Marat Safin, Stan Wawrinka, Juan-Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic combining to deny them a total of five wins out of the 49 Grand Slam tournaments played since Federer successfully defended the Wimbledon title in 2004.
Raonic’s achievement was itself fairly rare in denying one of them a place in the final after negotiating a fiercely fought semi-final with Federer and he suggested Murray has now moved onto another level with this win.
“I think it's phenomenal for him to back up his win from three years ago,” said the 25-year-old Canadian.
“He's been in many finals since then that he wasn't able to make the most of.
“From what I saw of his matches he had a pretty good opportunity to win this tournament without losing a set.
“He was two sets to love up against Jo (Wilfried Tsonga) who made a strong fight back, then Andy had to turn it around in a very strong way in the fifth set.
“He’s been playing great. Guys haven’t been able to give him a true big scare. He definitely deserved to win this tournament and earned it.
“For him, it's a big step forward. What's next for him is up to him. He's got to go for it. There's many other guys that are going to be trying to go for it, as well. I know I will.”
He noted, however, that it would come down to individuals to do the necessary work.
“There are guys that are always sort of trying to push those barriers down that these guys try to set up,” said Raonic.
“Everybody wants to win. The guy across the net from you wants to take what you're trying to get.
“It's not a group thing. It's an individual thing, one on one. Everybody is trying to improve, whether they be the really young guys around 19, 20, 21 that are doing really well now, then you have also the guys that are 24, 25, 26, all the way up to 28, that are trying to get their name there.
“Yeah, you can group them, you can put people in groups, but nobody's really helping each other. It's a very individual sport. Everybody's doing it on their own.”
He has drawn considerable satisfaction from the way he has performed here, getting over a hurdle of his own in winning a Grand Slam semi-final at the third time of asking, having lost at Wimbledon two years ago and at the Australian Open earlier this year.
“It’s been phenomenal,” said Raonic.
“I stepped up in a semi-final that twice I struggled in in the past. I stepped up. I did a great thing there. Came back from two sets to love down, which is a first time for me.
“I showed guts. I showed vigour. I’ve got to carry that through to the next events.”
It seems that his already formidable commitment to that will be redoubled on the back of this experience.
“I'm going to work on everything,” Raonic pledged.
“I'm not going to leave any stone unturned. I'm going to try to get myself back in this position, try to be better in this position.
“I'm going to try to get fitter, stronger. I'm going to try to improve my return game, improve my serve. I can improve there. Improve my efficiency coming forward. There's not one thing that I'm not going to try to improve.
“Obviously now we have to focus on what the most important thing is to put as much attention as I can because I can't focus on everything the whole time. We'll discuss that as a team and we'll try to take it from there.”
As to what he had specifically learned from his first involvement in a Grand Slam final Raonic, who suggested he was keen to continue working with John McEnroe who has been coaching him during this grass court season, further alluded to a meticulousness of approach in indicating that was a process he had yet to undergo.
“I haven’t learned it yet, but I’m going to try to make sure I learn everything I can.”
What Raonic appears to already be certain he knows is that he can be a Grand Slam champion in his own right.
“I believe I definitely have that ability within myself,” he said.
“There’s not a shadow of doubt from myself. The question is, am I going to make the most of it when those opportunities arise.
“Nobody’s going to give me those opportunities. I’m going to work extensively and really hard to give myself those opportunities.
“That’s what keeps me the most motivated. I think when that disappears, that constant day-to-day progress, the beauty of tennis will change to me.”
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