HISTORY beckons for Andy Murray. The Scot is through to the semi-finals of the US Open and the chance to achieve greatness is within touching distance.
The last man to do as well at Flushing Meadows was Tim Henman in 2004, but Britain's former national treasure was up against Roger Federer in his pomp. No-one gave Tiger Tim a chance. Sure enough, Henman was thrashed in straight sets.
With Murray, it is different. He must try to find a way to get the ball past Rafael Nadal tomorrow, a man he has not beaten in five attempts, but this time no-one is writing him off. What he has achieved over the past ten days has made everyone sit up and take notice – Murray is, in local parlance, the real deal and anything is possible for him now.
On Wednesday night he proved to the enthralled New York crowd that he had the fight and the fire to win at all costs, scrapping his way through a four-hour marathon with Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5. The fact that he had the physical strength and the mental focus to overcome the muscular challenge of the Argentine, as well as his own nerves, proved that he has what it takes to succeed.
Against Del Potro, Murray was expected to win. He was the No6 seed playing the No17; he was the 21-year-old playing the 19-year-old rookie. It was also Murray's chance to make his biggest breakthrough so far – the win would push him up to No4 in the world rankings while a place in the semi-finals would establish him as one of the real contenders for the major titles. The pressure was all Murray's and, in many ways, it was the most important match of his career – and he survived it unscathed. But Murray is not ready to celebrate just yet.
"I'm excited to be in the semi- finals," he said, "but the tournament is still going. I said at the start of the tournament, I want to try to win it. I don't want to lose in the semi-finals.
"When I watched the opening of the tournament on the first night session, and you see all the winners of the US Open, you realise that winning is what really, really counts. That's what I'm going to try and do."
Against Nadal, Murray has nothing to lose and everything to gain. The Spaniard is the all-conquering champion of this year, the world No1 and the unstoppable force. Murray is the young hopeful, snapping at his heels. Playing on "Super Saturday," he will relish the spotlight and when Murray gets his chance on the big stage, he seldom disappoints.
When they met in the Wimbledon quarter finals, Nadal took charge from the very start. But when they met on the hard courts of Toronto a few weeks later, Murray came close to upsetting the Spaniard. Every time they play on the faster, cement surface, he makes Nadal sweat and strain for his victory and now he thinks he knows what he has to do to win.
"The one thing that I need to improve is to return better," he said. "The first couple of times I played him I returned very well. The last two or three matches I didn't return well at all. The times I played him on hard courts, I've had quite a few close sets, really tough matches. It comes down to who returns better and who gets the breaks of serve. Normally that's the best part of my game. The last few times I've played him, I've not done that."
Murray also needs to keep his own service games tight and secure, just as he did against Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round. Then he produced huge serves on big points and tomorrow he cannot afford to give Nadal a hint of a chance.
Nadal seems to be super- human. He has barely paused for breath as he has taken the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic titles and overtaken Federer at the top of the rankings.
In New York, he has got better with every round and even though he dropped a set against Mardy Fish on Wednesday, it was no more than a minor hiccup on his way to a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win. Even so, Nadal knows Murray will pose a different challenge.
"He's playing very well and having a very good summer," Nadal said. "I have all the respect for him always. In Wimbledon, too, the same respect like right now. I know how good is Andy and how good he can play.
"I know the only way for a win is play my best tennis. I did very well in Wimbledon and I played one of my best matches there. I beat him in the semi-finals of Toronto, too, but it was a very close match and I played well. My goal is try to find my best feeling and my best performance."
With every round, the crowd has warmed to Murray and tomorrow he will be the underdog and the New Yorkers' favourite. He loves the playing surface and he adores the big stadium atmosphere. All he needs to do now is play the match of his life and history could his for the making.
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Nadal's 5-0 record gives him upper hand•
Doubles disappointment for JamieThe full article contains 923 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
