Back in January, Canadian Milos Raonic went to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Now he's done one better at Wimbledon. Can he win it all? (Zhukovsky | Dreamstime.com)
Remember back when we talked about how a bunch of Canadian tennis players were invading Wimbledon, the biggest tennis tournament in the world? Two of the players that we profiled, Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil, won a couple matches before eventually getting eliminated in the third round. But the other? Well, he's still going strong. And he just might win it all.
On Friday, Milos Raonic beat Roger Federer to advance to the final of Wimbledon, where he'll face Scottish star Andy Murray. Just how big is this victory? To begin, Roger Federer is considered by many to be the greatest tennis player of all time. He's won 17 Grand Slam tournaments (these are the four biggest tournaments in the sport: The Australian Open, The French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open), more than any other male player. He's also won Wimbledon seven times. Federer had also never lost a semi-final match at Wimbledon before, winning his last 10 appearances. So yeah, he's pretty good.
First Canadian man ever
In addition, Milos Raonic is now the first Canadian man to reach the final of any Grand Slam tournament. Ever. What an achievement for him! How did he do it? He's spent the last few years working very, very hard. Raonic's incredible booming serve was already one of the best in tennis five years ago. But he has become a more varied player now. And that's how you win in this sport. By being varied and unpredictable. In key rallies in the semi-final (a rally is when the ball is in play being hit back and forth between the players), Raonic surprised Federer with unusual and daring shot choices. In other words, earlier in his career, Milos was powerful. Today, he's powerful and smart.
Raonic vs. Murray for the title
Milos lost to Andy Murray three weeks ago in a very close final at the Queen's Club tournament. (Getty Embed)
Now Raonic has just one more step to go. He must beat Andy Murray. That won't be easy. Not only did Murray win Wimbledon once already in 2013, but as a Scottish man, he'll be very favoured by the crowd at Wimbledon (Scotland is a part of the United Kingdom). But you know who else was favoured by the crowd at Wimbledon? Federer. Raonic actually played Murray in a close final only three weeks ago at smaller tournament called Queen's Club. Murray was the winner there, and has played a terrific Wimbledon so far. But Milos has beaten Andy before and will be full of confidence on Sunday. And either way, he's earned the right to have all of Canada cheering him along for all they're worth. Good luck!
Listen below to Raonic talking about his victory and how he's grown as a player. Way to go, Milos!
Help me! What do these scores mean?!
Psst! Are you excited to watch this match but really don't know how tennis scores work? Don't worry, everyone finds it confusing at first, but we've got you covered! Watch this video, which features Andy Murray playing Roger Federer during the Olympics in 2012. Enjoy the match!
