AEGON Championships 2016: Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic Score, Reaction

Andy Murray wins second singles title of the year. Two weeks after falling to Novak Djokovic in the French Open final, Murray stormed from behind for a three-set victory over Milos Raonic at the 2016 Aegon Championships in London on Sunday. He claims a record fifth Queen's crown.

After dropping the first set in a hard-fought tiebreak, Murray dug himself an 0-3 hole in the second set and seemed to be heading toward an early flame-out.

Then he turned on the jets.

Murray took six of the next seven games in the second set to win 6-4 and then captured the first two in the third on his way to a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 win over the third-seeded Canadian. It's Murray's second individual title since the Italian Open in Rome this spring and his first since splitting with coach Amelie Mauresmo.

Carl Bialik of FiveThirtyEight offered an impressive stat: 

Both players were totally dominant on their first serve. Murray won 84 percent of his chances, and Raonic was at 78 percent. Raonic blasted 14 serves past Murray for aces, compared to six for the Scot. The two sides played the match about as evenly as possible.

Murray's 91 game points won eclipsed Raonic by only five.

The first set was a lengthy slog, as neither guy could gain an inch against the other on his serve. Raonic hit seven aces and lost only seven service points the entire set. Murray lost nine. That difference was enough to give Raonic the tiebreak in a set where neither player faced a single break point.

The second set was a completely different story, as Raonic raced out to a 3-0 lead after breaking Murray's first service game. What happened next was the result of a few fortuitous bounces and some brilliant play by the now five-time winner on this court.

Murray held serve at love to bring it to 3-1 and then fought his way to a gritty break to get back in the hunt. A well-timed challenge on a Raonic winner allowed Murray to get to deuce, and then he hit a sterling backhand to win the game after taking advantage. He continued that momentum with another hold-break combo to make it 4-3, and the pair traded holds the rest of the way to Murray's 6-4 win.

A charged-up Murray continued to torment Raonic early in the third set, breaking him 1-0 and then taking a 2-0 lead with an excellent service game. He looked almost unstoppable despite Raonic's five aces, hitting three of his own and losing five service points the entire set. Raonic found himself drowning in his second serve, winning only three of those nine points, which directly allowed Murray to break him twice.

This is a record fifth championship at Queen's Club for Murray. He previously shared the record with Roy Emerson, John McEnroe and Boris Becker. The title also marks a promising first tournament for Murray and new coach Ivan Lendl.

"I've had very good results working with Ivan in the past, and I see no reason why that can't be the same again this time," Murray said, per Piers Newbery of BBC Sport.

Lendl was Murray's coach from 2011 to 2014, helping him win his only Grand Slam championships. The pair teamed together for the 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon titles, though the latter part of their run was littered with disappointing quarterfinals exits for Murray. Having reached the final in each of this year's first two majors, perhaps Murray looks to Lendl as the final step in getting him back as Wimbledon champion.

If their first return to Queen's is any indication, Murray and Lendl should be a force to be reckoned with.  

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Post-Match Reaction

Raonic is already ready to face off against Murray in the Wimbledon final, per Les Roopanarine of the Guardian: “Hopefully we can have a rematch a couple of Sundays from now I’m feeling pretty good out here, it’s good progress I’ve made this week…hopefully I can continue.”

Murray spoke on how he came back: “I guessed on a few serves to get one of the breaks back and after that I gained confidence. Coming out here to try to win for the fifth time I was really motivated. … Obviously, this tournament has loads of history, it’s a great event [and] the player field every year is extremely strong.”

He also talked about becoming the first five-time winner at this event: “Any time you can do something just a little bit better than him [McEnroe], it’s an amazing feeling.”