Andy Murray can take my title, says Rafael Nadal

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13 April 2012

Andy Murray destroyed Rafael Nadal today and was then backed by the world No2 to end Britain's 74-year wait for a men's Grand Slam champion by winning this Australian Open.

A knee injury forced Nadal to quit the quarter-final while trailing 6-3, 7-6, 3-0 but the Spaniard conceded Murray was playing "unbelievable" tennis while the Scot himself says he is ready to take one of the majors.

Murray is now focusing on his first semi-final here and the chance to gain revenge over Marin Cilic, who won their last match at the US Open four months ago. If Murray triumphs on Thursday it will mean a second Slam final appearance for him following his 2008 loss to Roger Federer in New York.

Fred Perry was the last British man to win a major and the long wait could end on Sunday with Nadal saying: "Andy deserves to win his first Grand Slam and he is going to do it. I think this is a very good chance for him because he's playing really well and already in the semi-finals.

"Before the match I said he is a very complete player. That's very important because you have different options when the match is complicated. He is playing at an unbelievable level. I was playing one of the best players in the world."

Nadal retired from the contest with the same knee problems that stopped him defending his Wimbledon title last year and this latest setback raises serious questions over his entire season.

He added: "It is a little bit disappointing to have the pain in the knee because I think I am very close to start winning these important matches."

Murray, 22, paid tribute to the defeated champion and then set his sights on taking his crown.

"I am gutted for Rafa who is my favourite player and someone I have looked up to since I was 13," he said. "I knew it was going to be tough but I found the right tactics and now I am facing Cilic and I am looking for some revenge after that US Open defeat last year. I have a good chance against him and of reaching another Slam final so there will be lots of nerves.

"Now, I am ready to win a Slam, and hopefully, I can do it here. I am going to give myself opportunities to win Grand Slams and that's why I work hard and why I play tennis. I didn't have my best day against Cilic at the US Open but I've played him quite a few times on the tour and had good results against him. If I play like I did against Rafa then I have a good chance of winning."

Not even a ludicrous interruption for a huge fireworks display let off in a nearby park could ruin one of the biggest wins of Murray's career against a player who went into the match holding a 7-2 career record against the No5 seed. The fireworks were to celebrate Australia Day and because they have affected matches in past years, it was decided to instigate the first ever stoppage in a major Grand Slam match for outside interference.

It was supposed to be a short interruption but actually kept the players off court for nine minutes in the second set with Murray using the delay to change shirts.

The players weren't allowed a warm up when they returned meaning Murray had to go straight into a service game. The break was a crass decision by the organisers and one that surprised the Briton.

Murray said: "They told us 15 minutes before we went out, we were going to have to stop at some stage. It's just quite strange and you can't imagine at a football World Cup quarter-final stopping in the 60th minute and officials going, You've got a few fireworks, just hang on'. It was probably one of the only times that will ever happen during my career."

While Murray's match was cut short, Cilic — the marathon man of the Open — was taken to the limit again before winning an epic quarter-final against Andy Roddick 7‑6, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3.

The 14th seed has spent the longest time on court of all the players left in the tournament at 18 hours and eight minutes for his five matches.

Victory was finally sealed after three hours and 50 minutes when Roddick — struggling with a shoulder injury from the first set — pushed a backhand volley wide, prompting Cilic to drop to his knees in a mixture of joy and exhaustion.

It was the third time the Croatian had been taken to five sets here and he accepts that fatigue could be a major factor in his clash with Murray.

"It is also going to take a lot of energy out of me and so we will see how I am going to be able to survive," he said.

"It wasn't easy today but I've had the experience here of being in this situation now. I just had a few extra gears in the last set. I was struggling on serve, he was putting pressure on me and I didn't know what to do. But point-by-point I worked back."

This was the 13th five-setter Cilic has played and the eighth he had won. By contrast Roddick has come out on top in only 12 of 27 matches that have gone the distance but the American felt hard done-by today. Roddick needed lengthy treatment on a shoulder problem after the first set and blamed the injury for robbing him of victory.

"I felt the shoulder a little bit the other night," said the No7 seed. "It seemed pretty good for the first couple games but then I think I aggravated something. By the end of the first set, I was pretty numb in the bottom two fingers.I could still hit it pretty hard, I was just having trouble controlling it. I didn't really have the full deal."

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