Milos Raonic hails John McEnroe influence

Milos Raonic has hailed the influence of coach John McEnroe after reaching his maiden grand slam final with a last-four victory over Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

Having claimed the opening set, Raonic lost the next two to the 17-time major winner.

But the 25-year-old recovered brilliantly to come away with a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 4-6 7-5 6-3 victory and is the first Canadian to reach a grand slam final.

"It's an incredible comeback from me really," he said. "I was struggling through the third and fourth set.

"He was playing some great tennis, but I found a little opening and managed to finish it off."

McEnroe joined Raonic's coaching team in May to work on his grass-court game and says the three-time Wimbledon winner has had a big influence.

"What he told me today is to leave it all out there," he added. "I showed a lot of emotion out there, always positive, and I think that's what got me through.

"Mentally, I had one of the best matches in my career and I think that's what made the biggest difference.

"He gave me plenty [of tips] that helped today, so did Carlos [Moya].

"Both of them winning slams and playing in a lot of these semi-finals, I hope they have a lot more to give me."

Discussing his approach to Sunday's final, Raonic commented: "I'll try to push it down, enjoy the moment and really focus on the task at hand.

"I'm by no means done with what I want to do here, so it gives me something to keep my sight on to really try to progress and win this thing."