Raonic v Murray: What they need to do to win

When Milos Raonic and Andy Murray square off in the 2016 Wimbledon final it will be a clash of style and personalities. But with both playing sublime tennis, what are the keys to each man getting the win?

Milos Raonic [6] v Andy Murray [2]
H2H: 3-6
Last match: Murray won 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 (Queen’s Club 2016)
Last match on grass: Murray won 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 (Queen’s Club 2016)
Raonic Wimbledon best: Semifinal 2014
Murray Wimbledon best: Winner 2013

Raonic’s road to the final:
1R: Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(4) 6-2 6-4
2R: Andreas Seppi 7-6(5) 6-4 6-2
3R: [27] Jack Sock 7-6(2) 6-4 7-6(1)
4R: [11] David Goffin 4-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
QF: [28] Sam Querrey 6-4 7-5 5-7 6-4
SF: [3] Roger Federer 6-3 6-7(3) 4-6 7-5 6-3

Murray’s road to the final:
1R: Liam Broady 6-2 6-3 6-4
2R: Yen-Hsun Lu 6-3 6-2 6-1
3R: John Millman 6-3 7-5 6-2
4R: [15] Nick Kyrgios 7-5 6-1 6-4
QF: [12] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(10) 6-1 3-6 4-6 6-1
SF: [10] Tomas Berdych 6-3 6-3 6-3

What Raonic needs to do to win: Attack, attack, attack. Milos Raonic needs to go on the offensive like he did for large swathes of the semifinal against Federer. He has to come out swinging and connect like he did on Friday, when he was able to go toe to toe with Roger in all areas of the court. If he can do that again and hustle an under-pressure, combustible Andy Murray, the Canadian could well walk away with the trophy.

What Murray needs to do to win: Soak it up. Whether he admits it or not, Andy Murray is under enormous pressure to win his second Wimbledon title. Can he deal with the weight of that expectation? Milos Raonic won’t make it easy. Murray will expect the Canadian to come out firing, and will need to figure out a way to deal with his enormous serve and heavy groundstrokes. But Murray is a master at doing just that. If the World No.2 brings his A game it’s hard to see Raonic getting the better of him. Anything less, though, and the Canadian could easily spring an upset.

Prediction: Andy Murray will win in four sets.