Andy Murray

BBC Sport - Tennis - Andy Murray stuns Rafael Nadal to reach Toronto final

Andy Murray produced some of his best tennis of the year to beat world number one Rafael Nadal and reach the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
The Briton, defending his title in Canada, came through 6-3 6-4 to reach the final and guarantee that he will remain fourth in the world rankings.
Murray broke once in the first set and twice in the second as his aggressive tactics gave him the edge throughout.
Roger Federer takes on Novak Djokovic in Saturday's second semi-final.
Murray had given notice that his form was good with an impressive display against David Nalbandian on Friday, ending the Argentine's 11-match winning streak in the quarter-finals.
But Nadal remained a daunting opponent, with Spaniard having won eight of their previous 11 meetings including a straight-sets victory at Wimbledon last month.

Since arriving in North America, Murray has dispensed with the services of coach Miles Maclagan and spent much of his time with the media outlining his plans for a replacement.
However, he has also suggested that he is enjoying the new-found freedom and the more aggressive tactics that so many people have called for have been apparent in Toronto.
As early as the fourth game, Murray had Nadal on the back foot with some heavy groundstrokes only for the Spaniard's forehand to fend off a break point.
Nadal had two chances of his own in game eight but Murray seemed to relish the pressure, playing a magnificent forehand and a vicious sliced backhand to get out of trouble.
Murray then made the breakthrough in the following game as he again got the better of a long baseline exchange before serving out the set with ease.
The Scot was not making as many first serves as he had against Nalbandian - fewer than 50% throughout the match - but he was backing up his second serve with assertive second shots and constantly threatening the Nadal serve.
When he broke to lead 2-1 in the second set after recovering from 40-15 down, Murray looked on course for a straightforward win, but Nadal rarely hands over a victory.
A blistering forehand down the line, made all the more impressive by Hawkeye's replay showing it had just caught the line, helped him level at 3-3 and prompted a trademark leap and fist pump from the Spaniard.
After taking three games in a row Nadal earned two break points at 4-3, but a pumped-up Murray got back to deuce with a brave forehand down the line and regained control of the match.
Three brilliant points took him to 0-40 and Nadal succumbed with a backhand error on the third break point, before Murray nervelessly served out the match after one hour and 44 minutes.

Played really well today, just wish he could win some big tournaments

 

Watched it and he was amazing. This say's to me it's a mental thing when it comes to Grand slams. He is good enough to win them but i don't think he beleives in himself enough.

 

agreed, hopefully it clicks soon mate

 

True mate, he's lacking in confidence quite a bit.

 

That Mark Pechy said he is a genius, and he thinks he should return every ball that is hit at him and when he misses them he thinks about the miss rather than move on and play the next point. Far too hard on himself IMO.

 

Andy Murray beats Roger Federer 7-5 7-5 to retain his Toronto Masters title.

 

Important win, wants to keep his top 4 ranking going into the US Open.

 

well done andy!!

 

Superb Today Andy Boy

 

Once he gets over the first psychological hurdle of winning a grand slam I think we'll see his confidence soar.

 

Yes, well done indeed what a performance andy bring on the US open!!

 

He wins this and never seems to win wimbledon. Weird one. He always seems to beat nadal and federer unless it is at wimbledon

 

It's all about the surface. Andy's in the top two on hard court if not the best. Looking forward to the US open.

If he wins that and does well in Oz then he shouldn't be far from No. 1

The French will never come and I can see him getting to a Wimbledon Final.

 

You don't think Murray will win the French Open, ever?

 

I think he will be able to get the French open title and get to a Wimbledon final imo.
He just needs one grand slam and he'll gain the confidence needed to go on and win further grand slam's imo.

 

I think that's Nadal's as long as he stays fit. Just not the surface for Andy.

I wouldn't write Wimbledon off but he has a far better chance in the other two. He's real class on the Hard Court.

 

the problem is that the likes of nadal and federer seem to have a 6th gear compared to andys 5 gears. murray is capable of beating the best, weve seen it in the last two days, but when it really counts, i.e. grand slams, nadal and federer just seem too good for him.

like, he got to the final of the US open a couple of years ago, beating nadal in the semis. came up against federer in the final where he was ripped to pieces, not because he played badly but because federer was untouchable.

 

Yeah true

 

Well done Andy for the time being you will be Brittish and then Scottish again after your next defeat .

 

Nadal's knees could get worse, so there is hope yet!