LONDON, (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal delivered another display of remarkable mental fortitude and brilliant shot-making to withstand an early assault from Andy Murray and beat the home favourite 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon final yesterday.
The top seed and defending champion will play Novak Djokovic tomorrow after ending Murray’s bid to become the first Briton to win the title in 75 years.
Fourth seed Murray played a brilliant first set to get the Centre Court crowd buzzing but the Spaniard took it in his stride and, combining his famed big-match temperament and incredible consistency, fought back for a fully-deserved victory. It took him to his 13th grand slam final in which he will bid for his 11th major title and third at Wimbledon.
The victory continued the remarkable Wimbledon run of the Spaniard, whose last defeat in the tournament came in the 2007 final against Roger Federer. Nadal won it in 2008, missed 2009 through injury but came back to triumph again last year after also beating Murray in the semis.
“It’s a dream to be back in the final. I’m very happy,” Nadal said after congratulating Murray for his spirited effort.
The Briton had come out for his third successive Wimbledon semi-final and third grand slam semi of the year full of attacking intent and quickly had the Centre Court crowd buzzing as he went for his shots at every opportunity
