US Open - Murray finishes off Nadal to reach final

Eurosport - Tue, 09 Sep 07:27:00 2008

Sixth-seeded Briton Andy Murray reached his first Grand Slam final in commanding style by upsetting world number one Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-6 4-6 6-4 at the US Open.

TENNIS 2008 US Open Andy Murray - 0

The shrewd Scot outplayed the Spanish left-hander in a semi-final contest that began on Saturday on the Louis Armstrong court and ended more than 24 hours later in the showpiece Arthur Ashe Stadium after being interrupted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna.

Leading by two sets but trailing 2-3 in the third overnight, Murray lost the third set before breaking the Spaniard in the 10th game of the fourth, wrapping up the biggest victory of his career with a backhand winner.

The 21-year-old Briton will play four-times defending champion Roger Federer in Monday's final, the Swiss maestro having beaten Serb Novak Djokovic on Saturday.

"Very relieved," an emotional Murray said in a courtside interview on a sun-splashed, blustery afternoon after ripping 65 winners past Nadal, including 21 aces.

"To come back after yesterday when I was two sets up was obviously tough to sleep on. I'm so glad I came through.

"I thought I was playing well enough to win but I knew Nadal was going to come at me."

Murray, who will attempt to become the first British man to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry at the 1936 US Open, has a 2-1 winning record against world number two Federer.

"He's probably the greatest player ever so to get the chance to play against him in a slam final is an honour," said the Scot, the first Briton since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to advance to the championship match at the US Open.

"But I have played well against him in the past so hopefully I can do the same again tomorrow."

Nadal, who broke Murray at the start of the third set before the match spilled over into a second day, survived one anxious moment in the 10th game but held serve to win the third set.

After hitting a forehand long, the Majorcan saved a break point with an ace before winning the next two points with crunching forehands to peg back Murray's lead.

Continually pressured by Murray's clever variations from the baseline, Nadal was forced to save seven break points in a marathon second game in the fourth set before holding serve.

Murray, understandably demoralised after losing a 15-minute game totalling 22 points, was then broken in the third after making four successive unforced errors. The last of them, a wild forehand that sailed wide, gave Nadal a 2-1 lead.

The Briton, however, broke back in the sixth, when the Spaniard hit a forehand wide, to level at 3-3 and constructed a sequence of near-perfect rallies in the 10th to again break and secure victory in three hours 30 minutes.

Nadal, the French Open and Wimbledon champion who was playing his first Grand Slam as world number one, had won 54 of his previous 56 matches along with eight ATP titles this year.

"I'm very happy for everything," the Spaniard said. "Am I disappointed? Yes. But at the same time, I am happy because I did good semi-finals here. I tried my best all the tournament. He played better than me and he beat me."

Win or lose Monday, Murray will rise to a career-high fourth when the world rankings are issued next week, a fitting move according to four-times US Open singles champion John McEnroe.

"He has an incredible return of serve and some of the best hands in the business," McEnroe said while commentating on the match for an American TV network. "I have always believed he had the potential to go a very long way.

"At the start of the tournament, I said he was the fourth-best player in the world and now the rankings will back up the statement. Let's see if he can go higher -- I think he can."

Reuters

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  1. andy u did ur parents n ur country proud by demolishing­ nadal..andy don worry bou ur looks cus nadal is more­ ugly then u..

    From nthk8, on Sat 13 Sep 8:55PM

  2. kennyn you thick @#$% that the union jack

    From skintus, on Mon 8 Sep 11:47PM

  3. ha ha ha wastral

    From skintus, on Mon 8 Sep 11:45PM

  4. veryhappy19 your just a little english @#$%

    From dazza, on Mon 8 Sep 11:42PM

  5. on the live updates why oh why is there a F english­ flag next to Murrys name ???????????????????

    From kenny, on Mon 8 Sep 11:34PM

  6. the wee man from the hills is getting pasted. but he­ has broken fed's serve so there is hope.

    From JONHBOY, on Mon 8 Sep 10:55PM

  7. Just in from work. Wanted to share some comments on­ TENNIS and I met the same poor comments on a great­ player (and guy) like Andy. Sad indeed.
    I'll check­ out other forum.
    Aye man, Romans are here again.
    Play­ your best TENNIS Andy. Do it for the true sport, do it­ for the TENNIS fans,
    do it for Scotland, DO IT FOR­ YERSELF!
    No matter the final score , ye are a winner­ already.

    Peace.

    From P M, on Mon 8 Sep 10:03PM

  8. Bring yer £££'s to Scotland Andy...We need ye!
    We­ need to get more swords , shields , spears­ &C....THE BLOODY Romans are here again!
    they are­ angry... don't know why... but they hate ye!
    Don`t­ worry ... Pictish tribes are here again too... ready to­ kick their arses.

    C'moan Caledonia! C'moan­ Alba! C'moan Scotland!

    C'MOAN SIR ANDY­ MURRAY! ...YE ARE A WINNER!

    From willflet, on Mon 8 Sep 9:39PM

  9. NEWS FLASH!!..rafa consider taking citizenship in­ scotland..

    From nthk8, on Mon 8 Sep 9:33PM

  10. Take your beating like a man tonight Murray. You­ don't impress me with your pasty white biceps.

    From Fairy Liquidator, on Mon 8 Sep 9:22PM

  11. federer will win the final sure..he want`s to be nr.1­ again..he`s the best.c`mon Roger

    From popa, on Mon 8 Sep 8:55PM

  12. I Dont Like Andy Murray, But I Guess He Is British,­
    But Nadal Is A Much Better Player, And Federer, Even­ Better,
    And I Hope Federer Smashes Him To The Ground In­ The Final,
    Cos Federer's The Best Ever XP
    from­ STEE

    From ste.brainiac, on Mon 8 Sep 7:40PM

  13. people forget greg rusedski also reached a us open­ final and also set the fastest serve ever at the time..­ so andy murray hasnt become the best thing since sliced­ bread just yet.. and to that mcain guy.. what the @#$%­ are you on u @#$%??

    From fangz2001, on Mon 8 Sep 7:26PM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    So it's down to this; the greatest tennis player of­ all time against the ugliest tennis player of all time.­ I hope Roger beats the ugly mummies boy really badly.­ Federer is a great sportsman and a true genius, whereas­ Murray has been lucky in his matches. He is a typical­ celebrity Scot. They must always be down on the­ English because they had the misfortune to be born­ something else.

    From SARAH B, on Mon 8 Sep 6:44PM

  15. Andy I am so proud of you, keep it up and fly that­ SALTIRE high. good luck

    From anne.veitch, on Mon 8 Sep 6:26PM

  16. Some great comments: it's interesting to correlate­ content with literacy levels.

    1) So, Murray's no­ David Ginola. Remember Faldo in his prime? Maybe the­ all-time greats can display affability but a real­ winner nowadays will keep on kicking when you're­ down.

    2) Scotland v. England goes back at least as far­ as Hadrian's Wall (most of the "British"­ Army's still Scottish for good reason) and is right­ up there with Greece v. Turkey and Israel v. Rest of­ the World.

    3) So at least an independent Scotland­ would be able to look after itself. Though a tad­ dangerous in the dark.

    From hairy_jock, on Mon 8 Sep 5:49PM

  17. Absolutly pathetic most of the comments, for shmilykiky­ pronounce WEIRDO fot veryhappy 19 & claire H­ pronounce very very love sick no just sick. Come on­ you ladies!!!! it,s not what a guy looks like it,s what­ he plays like no matter which country. GOWON Andy.

    From DOOG M, on Mon 8 Sep 4:15PM

  18. when they ask murray in the interview about british­ sport , he say he play tennis for himself , his family­ and his freinds . when they ask nadal he say the most­ inportant thing is to get ready for davis cup semi with­ spain against USA ( don't forget how much he is­ tierd) . this is the diference between this two players­ !!!!!!!!!!rafa is a real champion

    From hmb222000, on Mon 8 Sep 3:41PM

  19. Andy Murray played the best tennis we have yet seen­ from him & disposed of Raphael Nadal in a clinical­ fashion. His service return is probably the best in­ men's tennis right now & his own service is­ improving all the time. Nadal was not at his very best­ on the first days play, but the argument that he faced­ a "tired" opponent doesn't really stand­ up because he won many of the longest rallies that you­ would usually expect Nadal to win. He was simply­ outfought & outplayed by the rapidly improving­ gutsy Scot. He is never going to be a popular player­ outside Britain becuase of his typically Scottish surly­ dour attitude, but he has both the game & the grit­ to be a Grand Slam winner very soon, if not tonight­ against Roger Federer. If he serves as well as he did­ against Nadal, it may well be tonight. I sincerely hope­ so.

    From frank, on Mon 8 Sep 3:01PM

  20. What a load of twaddle gets talked on here. It's­ sport for goodness sake. And he's British! Who­ cares if he's English, Scottish Irish or Welsh.­ I'm Scottish, live in England. Two of my kids were­ born in Scotland, one in England. They all are proud to­ British, as am I. It's about time everyone got rid­ of the individualistic "patriotic" clap trap!

    From Max, on Mon 8 Sep 2:32PM
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