The British Empire is one win away from finally breaking its Grand Slam drought.
On Friday night down under, No. 5 Andy Murray put on a masterful display of "tennis geometry," to defeat the aggressive, fiery David Ferrer4-6, 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-6(2), and reach the Australian Open finals, where he will take on Serbia'sNovak Djokovic.
It is Murray's second straight Australian Open final, and his third in four years. Using his long frame to flick balls just outside of the feisty Ferrer's reach, Murray dominated the fourth-set tie-breaker, seeming to move in slow motion to push one last shot past his opponent's racquet.
It was Ferrer's 10th straight tie-breaker loss at the Australian Open.
Murray's own mental error might have been his saving grace. Down 6-4, 5-4 in the second set, he rallied to break Ferrer and tie the set on his way to a 7-6(2) victory. However, Murray was surprised when he realized he had tied the set at 5-5.
"You might not believe this, but I actually thought it was 4-3," Murray said in his post-match interview. "I didn't know until the umpire called it 5-5. That probably helped me, I wasn't as nervous."
No player from Great Britain—Murray is Scottish—has won a Grand Slam since Fred Perry went back to back at Wimbledon and the US Open since 1936.
It's been tough for UK players to even make a final since. Bunny Austin lost in the finals of the French Open in 1937 and Wimbledon in 1938, then no player made a Grand Slam final until John Lloyd lost the 1977 Australian Open crown.
It was another 20 years until Greg Rusedski made the finals at the US Open in 1997, falling to Patrick Rafter in four sets.
After that, no British player reached a final until Murray lost the 2008 US Open final to Federer. He reached the Australian Open final last year, losing to Federer again.
Ferrer's tenacity proved his place in the semifinals was far more than just a by-product of Rafael Nadal's injury status. It was the first Grand Slam semifinal he had ever reached.
"He's an unbelievable athlete, he works so hard," Murray said, praising his Spanish opponent. "He was dictating most of the points early on."
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