Murray dominated in a dramatic five set match at the Rod Laver Arena and reached the Australian Open final after beating Roger Federer with 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-2.
Murray served and returned superbly straight from the beginning and won the first set with 6-4 after 45 minutes. However, Federer showed his class in the second set tie-break and was able to hang on to Murray. Both played great tennis and Murray came back in the third with a great serve and forehand. Murray eventually broke Federer after nearly 80% of the points on his first serve and nearly 70% on his second serve. Federer switched back on in the 4th set and went up 1-4 before Murray levelled again. In the 4th it was hard to tell who the favourite player was. However, Murray missed a match point at 6-5 and Federer decided the 4th after a tie-break. Murray came back with grace and went up 0-3 and decided the fifth with a great 2-6.
Murray was delighted: “It’s satisfying, obviously, I’ve lost some tough matches against [Federer] in Slams. So to win one, especially the way that it went, was obviously nice.” He added: “It’s big, I never beat Roger in a Slam before. It definitely will help with the confidence. Just knowing you can win against those guys in big matches definitely helps.”
Andy Murray will face world number one Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s Australian Open final. Novak Djokovic beat David Ferrer with 6-2 6-2 6-1 in just one hour and 29 minutes.
