Murray: 'I Never Take This For Granted'

For the first time in Andy Murray’s career, he’ll enter a Grand Slam final with more experience on his side than his opponent.

The second seed is into his third Wimbledon final after a convincing semi-final victory on Friday over No. 10 seed Tomas Berdych. The 2013 Wimbledon champion will now play for the title against sixth seed Miios Raonic, who defeated third seed Roger Federer in the other semi-final.

“It’s obviously the first time I’ll play a Grand Slam final against someone that isn’t Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic. So that’s different,” said Murray. “But you never know how anyone’s going to deal with the pressures of a Slam final. I just have to go out there and concentrate on my side and do what I can to prepare well for it.”

Murray will contest his 11^th career Grand Slam championship match, while Raonic is competing in his first. The Brit also has history on his side, leading their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 6-3 and winning their past five matches, including three this year. Murray most recently prevailed over Raonic in a deciding-set win in last month’s grass-court final at the Aegon Championships.

Although he is now extremely familiar with these occasions and Raonic’s game, Murray is no under illusions that his past experiences will guarantee him a victory.

“Milos is a very tough opponent,” said Murray. “He’s played very well on the grass this year and earned his right to the final by beating one of the best, if not the best player at this event. He deserves to be there.”

Murray’s success this fortnight can be partially attributed to Ivan Lendl, who rejoined Murray’s team last month. Having won Wimbledon and the US Open (in 2012) under the Czech-turned-American’s tutelage, he praised Lendl’s calming influence as an added benefit to his game.

“I had the best years of my career with him, but there are other people that go into it as well. I obviously wanted to work with Ivan again to try to help me win these events. That’s the goal,” said Murray. “I don’t think he’d be doing this job if he didn’t believe that I could. But the information I get from him, the psychological help that I get from having him around, being able to chat to him at these events and before the big matches makes a difference.”

Having lost his past three Grand Slam finals (all to Djokovic), Murray is eager to snap the streak. After more than a decade on tour, he said he’s gained awareness of just what it means to win a major.

“I guess the tournaments start to mean more to you the older you get. You start to appreciate the history of the events more. When you’re 18, 19, you’re probably not as aware about those things,” said Murray. “I know how difficult it is to make the final of these events and how hard they are to win, so it never feels normal. I never take this for granted.”