Murray fit and ready to take final step to glory

The fifth-seeded Scot, inspired by a match-turning flash of inspiration in the second set, reached his second grand slam final with a 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory in a shade over three hours on Rod Laver Arena.

It was the first time the British No 1 had lost a set at the tournament this year and after breezing through the draw and knocking defending champion Rafael Nadal out in the previous round, the Scot admits he is in rare touch.

"This is the best I've played at a slam," he said.

"Obviously the match against Rafa was great. (Against Cilic), the majority of the match was great as well.

"I feel good. Physically I'm going to be fresh for the final."

Murray will play the winner of this morning's semi-final between world No 1 Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday night's final.

Murray lost to Federer in his only previous major final at the US Open in 2008 and admitted he would like the chance to meet the Swiss again.

"Federer's record in slams is amazing. So it would be incredibly tough to beat him," he said.

"If I was to win a slam against him in the final, it would make it extra special."

Murray had looked in trouble early against 14th seed Cilic as he was broken twice to concede the first set.

The Scot was showing signs of frustration as the Croatian dominated play with his booming forehand to run Murray around the court.

The momentum of the match turned, however, on a single moment of brilliance from Murray as he grabbed the opening break, and the initiative, in the second set.

Murray first ran down a net cord and when Cilic then shovelled a lob over him he somehow made enough ground to allow him to flick a fierce forehand past his stunned rival.

"That was really important because I don't want to say the match was slipping away from me, but the momentum was definitely with him," he said.

"A few things weren't quite going my way and he played some really aggressive tennis and was putting me under a lot of pressure.

"I was obviously happy I managed to turn it around because, like I say, he started to dictate the match.

"I actually practise that shot quite a lot in training," said Murray of his amazing winner. "It was a great shot.

"I managed to turn it around from there. I started going for my shots a bit more. That shot made a big difference."

Murray held on to his advantage to win the set and level the match and from there Cilic began to tire as his heavy workload from the previous rounds started to tell.

The Croatian was taken to five sets in three of his five matches, but refused to use it as an excuse for his defeat.

"I wouldn't put my tiredness as an excuse for losing this match," said Cilic, who will break into the world's top 10 for the first time after his performances at Melbourne Park.

"I think he deserved to win. Any player who comes to the semis has their own pathway through.

"(Against Murray) I wouldn't say that I was a 100 per cent, but I gave my best and that's the most important thing I can say."

Murray paid tribute to Cilic, who beat US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro and Andy Roddick to reach the last four of a slam for the first time.

"He showed incredible guts," said Murray. "He's played three five-set matches but he made it so tough for me and fought right until the end.

"We're going to have some more great matches."

The 22-year-old will have two full days off before the final while his opponent will not be decided until this morning.

Murray was accused of being too passive in the final against Federer at Flushing Meadows two years ago but he is not planning a gung-ho approach on Sunday whoever he faces.

"It's important against both to be solid," he added.

"Both of them can go through phases where they play unbelievable and you need to keep your level."

In reaching the final, Murray matched John Lloyd's 1977 run but he has his sights firmly set on ending Britain's long wait for a male grand slam singles champion which stretches right back to Fred Perry in 1936.

"I'd obviously love to do it," he said.

"I want to win it obviously for the people that I work with, for my parents, who obviously helped me when I was growing up, then doing it for British tennis and British sport would be excellent as well.

"But the pressure that I feel doesn't come from the people that are around me. They obviously are happy with anything that I do."

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