Murray marches into Australian Open final
Andy Murray into Australian Open final after convincing win over Marin Cilic
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Thursday, 28, Jan 2010 05:15
By Alistair Potter.
Andy Murray has secured a second ever grand slam final appearance after turning in a superb performance to beat Croatian Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2.
Murray produced some breathtaking tennis - including one remarkable shot when serving for the match when he got his racquet on an almost unreachable return to guide it round the netpost and into the open court.
A slow start gave Cilic the chance to claim two early breaks and the first set, but Murray roared back and took control - finishing the contest as the much stronger of the two as the Croatian wilted towards the end.
Cilic had to endure three five-set marathons on his way to the last four while Murray had not dropped a set, which many expected to play into the Briton's hands as the match wore on.
And so it proved as a fresh Cilic came careering out of the blocks, dictating play and playing aggressive tennis to claim the opening set.
Murray has been in superb form for the last ten days though and his belief is reaching new heights, which manifested itself in an engrossing second set.
First blood went to the fifth seed as he began to mix up his shots more and found his rhythm on the return.
But after breaking for a 2-1 lead, Cilic responded immediately and broke back to level things up again - slamming the door on Murray's attempt to establish some control.
The turning point of the match came in the next game - Murray engineered another break point at 30-40 but a lucky net chord seemed to hand Cilic a crucial point.
Murray, as he is so adept at these days, chased down the short ball and then recovered a difficult volley to keep the point alive but again Cilic seemed destined to take the game to deuce when he executed a perfect lob behind the scampering Scot.
With most in the crowd ready to applaud the end of an enthralling rally, Murray amazed everyone by reaching the bouncing ball, spinning on a sixpence and firing a forehand that surprised the flat-footed Cilic and passed him on the forehand side.
Murray used that break to claim the second set and grew in stature throughout the third as he stepped his game up another notch for a 2-1 lead.
By this stage the 21-year-old Cilic was visibly tiring and attempting to shorten points whenever he could - those marathon earlier rounds finally catching up to him.
But Murray was ruthless, breaking the Croat's serve in back-to-back service games for a 5-1 lead.
Cilic recovered some pride by making Murray serve for the match at 5-2, but by now the Scotsman was flying. A couple of big serves and that point where he completely ignored the net gave him two match points, although he needed only one as a weak Cilic return drifted long to spark the celebrations.