Thursday, July 2, 2009

Murray stands on verge of history

WIMBLEDON
Date: 22 June - 5 July
Coverage: BBC One, BBC Two, BBC HD, Red Button, website streaming (UK only) and text commentary, 5 Live, 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC iPlayer
Tennis on the BBC

Andy Murray
Murray's semi-final follows Federer v Haas on Centre Court

By Caroline Cheese
BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Andy Murray will become the first British player for 71 years to reach the Wimbledon men's final if he can overcome Andy Roddick on Friday.

At stake is a possible meeting with Roger Federer, who faces Tommy Haas in the first semi at 1300 BST.

Murray has beaten Roddick six times in eight matches, but he remains cautious, saying: "I understand that I can lose the next match if I don't play my best.

"If I don't bring my best game then I'm going to lose to guys like Roddick."

Victory would make Murray the first Briton since Bunny Austin in 1938 to reach the Wimbledon men's final as he continues his quest to become the first British men's champion since 1936.

Murray 'not thinking about' semi

Murray is only the fifth British man to reach the semi-final stage since Austin in 1938.

Tim Henman was the most recent, but unlike the former British number one, Murray, world-ranked three places higher than Roddick, will begin as favourite in his semi-final.

Having struggled to overcome Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round, the Scot reached his first Wimbledon semi-final by crushing Juan Carlos Ferrero on Wednesday, while Roddick needed almost four hours to see off Lleyton Hewitt.

In eight meetings with the former US Open champion, Murray has prevailed six times, including a third-round win at Wimbledon in 2006.

However, Roddick's serve remains one of the most feared weapons in men's tennis.

The 26-year-old has hammered down 139 aces so far, second only to Ivo Karlovic, and his Wimbledon record of two finals and a semi-final makes him a dangerous prospect.

"I'll obviously need to return very well," said Murray.

"He's been number one in the world, a Grand Slam champion. It's going to be tough."

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With showers forecast on Friday, there is a possibility of Centre Court's new roof being used for the second time in these Championships.

Murray admitted he struggled to come to terms with the indoor conditions during his unconvincing win over Wawrinka, but he says the roof holds no fear for him now.

"It doesn't make a difference to how I'm going to approach the match," said the third seed.

"You have to alter your game style slightly because it's a slower court, but I don't mind if it's indoors or outdoors."

Slower conditions are unlikely to suit Roddick, who is yet to experience an indoor match on Centre Court.

Indoors or outdoors, Hewitt, who lost over five sets to the American in the last eight, believes Roddick will have to play a "hell of a match" to beat Murray.

The sixth seed says he is "fine" with the underdog's tag.

"With my serve, I can give myself a chance in any match," he said.

But Roddick, who lost in the Wimbledon final to Federer in 2004 and 2005, admits Murray is an intimidating prospect.

"Andy has certainly come into his own as a player," he said.

Henman on Murray v Roddick

"He doesn't really have a lot of weaknesses, or any for that matter. He's improved his serve a lot. He returns great..."

While Murray targets his first Grand Slam title, world number two Federer is targeting a record 15th.

The five-time Wimbledon champion meets Haas in a repeat of their fourth-round encounter at the French Open this year.

Federer was two sets and a break point down before roaring back to beat the German on his way to lifting the trophy at Roland Garros for the first time.

"He's talented. He's always been one of the best ball-strikers in the game," said Federer after his quarter-final win over Ivo Karlovic.

"He's really gotten his game together after some tough injuries."

Since his defeat in Paris, Haas has won 10 straight matches on grass, winning the title in Halle and beating Novak Djokovic to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time at the age of 31.

"You push yourself even more to try to get to these occasions and follow your dreams as a kid," said the German, who is trying to become the oldest men's champion since 1975.

"You want to be able to look back and say, 'Hey, I played the sport that I love as long as I could and I've tried my best'.

"You look back at what you have accomplished and you want to be proud of yourself."

ะพ 9:30 AM

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