Murray reaches Australian Open final as Scot eyes first Grand Slam prize

Murray persevered against a dogged opponent in Marin Cilic (Getty Images)


When Andy Murray delivered that forehand down the line beyond Marin Cilic's reach in the early stages of the second set, we all knew that the Scot was destined to achieve something special in Melbourne: winning his first ever Grand Slam.

The 22-year old from Dunblane won 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 against the Croatian in an absorbing contest arguably between the two hottest prospects in the game present. Murray was not in his ruthless best compared to what had been witnessed in the earlier rounds, particularly his 4th round match against big-serving American John Isner, but Murray wore down his Croat oppenent with a variety of backhand shots that left Cilic scampering.

Cilic had played three 5-set matches during the tournament, but there was little evidence to suggest that his legs could not deal with the strenuous workout in a match against the in-form Scot in a Grand Slam semi until the end of the third set.

Cilic won the first set quite convincingly with some precise serving and hitting powerful groundstrokes to nullify Murray's threat. Murray held his first two games of serve in the second set, until in game 6 he played an outrageous forehand shot with his backed turned after Cilic lobbed the Scot while he was at the net. The crowd roared on the Scot in amazement, and gradually the momentum shifted in the Scot's favour. Pumped by the adreneline and the prospect of reaching his second Grand Slam final after the 2008 US Open, he eventually broke the Croat in the second to clinch the set 6-4.

It was the same story in the third. One break was all Murray needed and won the set in the same scoreline. Cilic's huge guard was dropping and his energy sapped from him. He was broken in the early stages in the fourth set through some penetrative tennis by Murray. The Scot's backhand was particularly a devastating weapon, striking the ball with great accuracy and finding all kinds of angles to drag Cilic's wiltering body off-court on a number of occasions.

He got the double break on game 6, and on what proved to be the final game at 5-2, Murray was dragged off-court next to gasping fans - the same kind of shot what Murray had been doing to Cilic for most of the evening - and fired an incredible forehand winner on his way to serving out the match.

Murray will face either Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday's final. I'm sure many Brits will want Tsonga to win, but many neutrals will think otherwise. Either way, Sunday should be a classic.