Milos Raonic is desperate to secure his first grand slam final appearance by defeating Andy Murray in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Friday.
The big-serving 25-year-old Canadian has not reached the last-four of a major tournament since Wimbledon in 2014 when he was bundled out of the tournament in straight sets by Roger Federer.
An injury-hit 2015 followed, but Raonic has rediscovered his form again and a 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 win against Frenchman Gael Monfils on Wednesday left him one game away from a first final appearance at Melbourne Park.
He must get past Britain’s Murray first after the Scot saw off Spain’s David Ferrer 6-3 6-7 (5/7) 6-2 6-3 in their quarter-final game.
The two players have three wins each from previous head-to-heads, but it will be Murray’s 18th grand slam semi-final compared to Raonic’s second.
However, despite a lack of experience in the big games compared to his opponent, Raonic is confident that he will be the man featuring in Sunday’s final given that he has already beaten fourth seed and past champion Stan Wawrinka in the last-16.
He said: “Right now, in this moment alone, it’s a great opportunity for me. I had a little bit of a disappointing semi-final two years ago.
“I just want to change that story around and give myself another go with more experience and where I feel like I’m a better player than I was two years ago.”
Raonic is 3.30 to defeat Murray, who is 1.33 to come out on top in their semi-final showdown.
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