Murray to adopt patient approach against Nadal

Andy Murray is prepared for the ultimate mental and physical battle when he takes on Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of Wimbledon today.

The Scot will face the world No 1 in the last four for the second consecutive year, and the second grand slam in a row after also meeting him at the French Open earlier this month.

Both those matches brought straight-sets wins for Nadal but Murray has made smooth progress through the draw this fortnight and is ready for the challenge of trying to ensure it is third time lucky.

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The fourth seed, who hit with Davis Cup team-mate Colin Fleming yesterday, said: “I feel good. I’ve played well so far and I feel comfortable. But I don’t expect to feel comfortable in the next match.

“I know I’m going to have to go through moments where I’m struggling, where Rafa hits some unbelievable shots, and I have to come back from behind sometimes. You have to be prepared for all that stuff.”

Murray’s biggest test so far probably came in the third round against Ivan Ljubicic, where he was taken to a tie-break in the fourth set, and he cruised through his quarter-final against Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Wednesday.

That suits the 24-year-old just fine, though, with Murray saying: “I’d rather be fresh and ready mentally to play against Rafa.”

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The pair have met 15 times in total, with Nadal winning 11 of them, including the last three.

But Murray is confident he has the game plan to beat Nadal and has taken inspiration from world No 2 Novak Djokovic, who can boast four successive wins over him this year.

“Some people think you have to blast through him and go for everything, but you have to be patient,” said Murray in his column on the BBC Sport website.

“If you watch how Novak Djokovic played when he beat Rafa on the clay in the Madrid Masters and Rome Masters last month, he was very solid, didn’t take huge risks, but hit the ball with a lot of authority.

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“You can’t just leave the ball in the middle of the court against Rafa, but at the same time trying to hit winners off the first shot of the rally just doesn’t work.

“It’s all about understanding what he’s going to do, and what I’m going to do to neutralise his strengths.”

Were Murray to reach his fourth grand slam final, and first at Wimbledon, he believes the confidence a win over Nadal would give him could be a crucial factor as he attempts to end his grand slam duck.

He said: “Any time you can get to a grand slam final, it shows that you’re close to the top of the game, and if I can get past Rafa it will give me more than enough belief that I can go on and win the tournament.”

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Murray’s chances were talked up by Nadal’s fellow Spaniard Lopez, who simply had no answer to the Scot’s all-round excellence in the quarter-finals.

“If Andy manages to play the way he played (on Wednesday), it is going to be very tough for Rafa I think,” said Lopez, a good friend of both players.

“Of course, it is a totally different game. I’m a more aggressive player. Rafa is a baseliner. But if Andy continues to play like this, it’s going to be a very, very tough match.”

Nadal kept his thoughts private but the smiles said it all as he completed his last full-scale practice session before taking on Murray.

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“He’s good, he’s ready,” said his coach, ‘Uncle Toni’ Nadal.

Nadal was completing an informal lap of honour on Court 15, where the 318 seats were all taken, signing autographs for the youngsters who shrieked in harmony at the Spaniard: “We love you, Rafa.”

He signed oversized tennis balls, tickets and programmes for young fans as well as those perhaps too advanced in years to be thrusting souvenirs under the nose of a 25-year-old.

Then he began the journey through a throng of animated spectators lining the narrow avenue between Courts 14 and 15, back towards the locker room.

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Nadal had spent a full hour testing out his left foot, the one which when he hurt it on Monday led him to muse that it might force him out of the tournament.

Those fears look to have been banished, and the confident way he went about yesterday’s session confirmed ‘Uncle Toni’s’ positive verdict.

Practising for the second time this week with Welsh youngster Evan Hoyt, the pair sparred in a session which began in a businesslike manner, but finished more playfully.

Nadal asked for some second-serve pace deliveries to hit back, so shouted ‘Hey, come on!’ when Hoyt thundered one down.

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The pair exchanged ground strokes for a good half-hour before moving on to volleying, serving, receiving, the full repertoire.

To say there were no alarms would not be quite accurate, considering a drone rang out from Centre Court for a good minute just shortly before half past one.

But as Nadal left the court, surrounded by a troop of security staff, he was in good spirits, albeit not talkative.

He had more to say following a four-set success over Mardy Fish on Wednesday night, though, which set up the rematch with Murray.

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After the Spaniard and the Scot went head-to-head in last year’s semi-finals, Nadal went on to crush Tomas Berdych in the final.

He is relishing the prospect of playing Murray again today, and will have plenty of support, judging by the response to him yesterday.