By Chris Oddo | Wednesday July 5, 2016
Milos Raonic produced produced some of his best tennis on Day 9 to move past Sam Querrey an into the Wimbledon semis.
Photo Source: Julian Finney/Getty
Milos Raonic ended the dream run of American Sam Querrey and kept his hopes of reaching a first Grand Slam final alive with a 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 win on Wednesday at Wimbledon.
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Raonic moves into his second career semifinal at the All England Club, where he’ll face Roger Federer for the 12th time, and second at SW19.
“Other than a span of three games, everything was quite good,” Raonic said of his victory over the World No.41 on No.1 Court. “I had quite a few looks. I made the most of it.”
Raonic came to the net early and often on a bright, sunny afternoon, smothering Querrey with his penetrating serve and long reach at net. He made 42 serve and volley approaches on his 105 service points and won a total of 35 of 47 points at net.
Raonic only faced two break points all afternoon and won 87 of 107 points on serve.
“I saw he was standing pretty far back on the return,” a very business-like Raonic explained to reporters afterwards. “If I take something off my serve, it allows me to get closer. I think that's why, yes, I made a few good volleys, but most of them were pretty routine volleys. I was always in a good position.”
Querrey, the man who created the buzz of Week One at Wimbledon by knocking off Novak Djokovic and parlaying that into a first career Grand Slam quarterfinal, gave props to Raonic’s net game and said there wasn’t much he felt he could do to create offense against the Canadian.
“I was really impressed with his net game,” Querrey said. “He really didn't miss a volley today. He kept coming forward, kept the pressure on me, and I felt it. Kudos to him for playing a very good, clean match.”
Querrey only earned two break points all afternoon, converting one.
Raonic is into his second Grand Slam semifinal of the season, and he’ll also be facing Federer for the second time this season. The Canadian created quite a stir when he rocked Federer in the Brisbane final and then nearly took out Murray in the semifinals at this year’s Australian Open. But an adductor injury foiled his performance then and also has slowed his progress of late—at least until Wimbledon.
Raonic has now been to three Grand Slam semifinals and feels he’s progressed far beyond where he was two years ago when Federer took him out in straight sets on Centre Court.
“I think from every aspect, I've improved,” Raonic said. “I know what I need to do on court better. I know how to sort of turn things around to get them on my terms. I know what I'm looking for. I know how to go about it, to try to get to that position as much as I can. And then when things aren't going well, I know what things to look for to change.”
Federer holds the 9-2 lifetime edge against Raonic, but the Canadian is eager for another chance to prove his worth on the biggest stage in tennis. “I look forward to it a lot,” he said. “I'm happy that I have another shot at him.”