Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic: Score, Reaction from 2016 ATP World Tour Finals

Andy Murray and Milos Raonic served up a fantastic match in the semi-finals of the 2016 ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday, with the former eventually winning by a score of 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9).

Raonic dominated with his serve in the first set and did a fantastic job wearing down Murray, who fought back in the second and forced a tiebreak. He seemed to crumble in the final set but somehow overcame a barrage of break chances for Raonic to force another decider.

Both players wasted match points in the tiebreak, but it was the home favourite who eventually grabbed the win.

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Both men came into the semi-final hoping to overcome some demons. The in-form Raonic was looking for his first win over Murray in 2016, while the Scot was gunning for his first-ever appearance in the final of the World Tour Finals.

Murray held to love to start the match, but his Canadian opponent soon started to find a rhythm and dominated with his serve. Murray was fantastic when defending against an advancing Raonic, but he struggled to keep up with the pace in the rallies and started to give up break chances early.

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The crowd favourite survived a first break in the fifth game before Raonic tied things up in just 64 seconds, to Murray's astonishment. The Scot started to grow frustrated, and while he did well to respond with a hold of his own, Raonic sensed an opportunity.

He came agonisingly close to breaking Murray's serve in the ninth game, failing on three break points after his opponent got a time warning.

Per IB Times UK's Nick Howson, Raonic sure had his chances:

Two games later, Murray again found himself under a whole lot of pressure, and after missing two routine forehands, a double fault finally gave Raonic the advantage. The Canadian served out the set in the next game to take the lead.

TennisTV noticed Murray was far from happy with the umpire in between sets:

Raonic carried his momentum into the second set, putting more pressure on Murray early, but the World No. 1 did well to survive the onslaught in the opening game. Murray had a great opportunity in the following game, finding his first break chances, but he fired a backhand into the net and forehand long.

Murray saved another break point with a risky drop shot in the next game, but it was only a matter of time, as another unforced error gave Raonic another advantage.

But just as the Canadian seemed to be on his way to the final, Murray stepped up his game, via Live Tennis:

"

Well. That was unexpected. Poor game from #Raonic & #Murray breaks back to love! 2-2.

Watch & bet on tennis at https://t.co/txueA5D56r pic.twitter.com/HsnDAbbNSn

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) November 19, 2016"

Raonic lost the pedals, allowing Murray to grab momentum and get himself fired up. The Scot breezed through his next serve game before earning himself more break chances on Raonic's serve, and the latter only managed to avoid a break with a sensational half-volley.

Christopher Clarey of the New York Times reserved high praise for Raonic:

The two went blow for blow until the 11th game of the second set, where Murray again had to come up with a tough hold.

The set eventually went to a tiebreak, where Murray grabbed the mini break thanks to two errors from Raonic. That would be enough to grab the second set and pull level, but Live Tennis wondered whether the marathon match would have an impact, even if the Scot won:

"

#Murray holds, saving 2 break points in a mere 6.5-minute game. If he even does win this, what will he have left for tomorrow's final? pic.twitter.com/IlDy6BfaEE

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) November 19, 2016"

Another difficult hold followed in the first game of the third set, with Murray clinging to his serve, and as the three-hour mark approached, there was nothing to separate the two. Raonic appeared the fresher of the two, with Murray looking exhausted toward the end of the set. 

Yet somehow, the World No. 1 found a break in the ninth game of the set, and suddenly, he found himself serving for the match. There was even more drama to come, as Raonic broke right back and his opponent ran into a code violation.

MailOnline's Stuart Fraser noted Raonic set a new personal mark by extending the set:

He, too, was visibly exhausted at that point, and he double-faulted to set up another break chance for Murray, giving the Scot another chance to serve out the set. The match still wasn't over, as Raonic took a 0-30 lead and eventually forced another tiebreak.

Murray took an early mini break but gave up his advantage with a double fault, highlighting how difficult things were for both players. Raonic took care of several break chances before netting a forehand to send Murray through to the final.

Per Live Tennis, Murray knows he's in for a tough challenge in the final after digging so deep against Raonic:

"

'I'll give it my best tomorrow, the best that I have,' #Murray says, looking forward to yet another match. 'It's going to be tough.' pic.twitter.com/Nq7vWJqf4E

— Live Tennis (@livetennis) November 19, 2016"

Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori will battle it out in the other semi-final on Saturday.