MELBOURNE: British hope Andy Murray has tenacious Tomas Berdych standing between him and playing in a fourth Australian Open final in six years in Thursday's semi-final.
The first Grand Slam tournament of the year has been a heartbreak major for the Scot with three runner-up finishes, but he gets another chance to finally crack the big-time if he can get past the giant-serving Czech.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Murray, 27, is bidding to become the first British winner of the Australian Open since Fred Perry in 1934.
"It's nice to be in the latter stages of a slam again," Murray said.
"Obviously I want to do as best as possible, but all you can do is prepare as best you can, which I certainly did over the last few weeks and months.
"I've given myself a good opportunity again, and hopefully I can use it to my advantage."
Berdych, widely seen as the best player yet to win a major, holds a 6-4 winning record over his rival and has won their last two meetings, although it is 1-1 in the slams.
He has marched into the last four with five straight-sets victories, while Murray has only dropped one set, in his tough fourth-round encounter against popular Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
"He's a big guy. He strikes the ball very well, he serves well and he's fairly calm on the court," Murray said of the Czech.
"I think he manages emotions fairly well and he's played extremely well this tournament so far. He'll be coming into the match with confidence."
Comments
Comments are closed.