Raonic beats Federer to reach Wimbledon final

TIL Desk Sports/Milos Raonic made Roger Federer feel his age at Wimbledon on Friday as the Canadian sharp-shooter bombarded Centre Court with a succession of 140 mph missiles to flatten the seven-times champion and reach his first grand slam final. Raonic appeared to be down and out as he trailed Federer by two-sets to one and 15-40 in the fifth game of the fourth set but somehow he managed to cling on for a 6-3 6-7(3) 4-6 7-5 6-3 win and became the first Canadian man to reach a major final.

“It’s an incredible comeback for me,” said the sixth seed, who will be seeking to win his first grasscourt title when he meets 2013 champion Andy Murray on Sunday in a repeat of last month’s Queen’s Club final. “I was struggling throughout the third and fourth sets, he was playing some really good tennis and just on a little opening I managed to turn it around and finish it off in a great match.

“I showed a lot of emotion today, always positive, and that’s what got me through. Mentally I had one of my best matches in my career and I think that’s what made the biggest difference.” Federer, who had survived a five-set thriller two days ago against Croatian Marin Cilic, added: “He fought. He believed, like I did against Cilic. Credit to him for hanging in there.”