Murray setting aside thoughts of revenge win

The Croatian dished out one of Murray's most embarrassing defeats of recent times when the 21-year-old dumped him out of last year's US Open in straight sets.

Murray had been bothered by a wrist injury in that match which subsequently kept him off the tour for six weeks, but the outcome served as an indication of Cilic's rising talent.

"I was obviously disappointed about what happened at the US Open," Murray said. "I was feeling good going into it. It wasn't the way I would have liked to have lost.

"Everyone talks about that a lot, about revenge. But you just go out there and every day's a different day in tennis.

"I think that I can win the match regardless of what happened at the US Open, if I play well, focus hard and concentrate, then there's no reason why I can't beat him again."

There is a rivalry between the young duo that began as juniors at the 2005 French Open when Cilic upset Murray, who was the No 1 seed.

Murray has, however, had the better of their matches since they became seniors with the Scot wining on three occasions before his US Open humbling.

The pair resume their rivalry when they meet under the lights of Rod Laver Arena today and Murray believes little should be read into their last result at Flushing Meadows, hinting his wrist complaint had hindered his performance.

"You can read into it as much as you like. I know what the circumstances were," he said.

"Obviously I didn't have my best day. I played him quite a few times on the tour and had good results against him, except there.

"I'll try and play like I did against Rafa (Nadal, who Murray beat in the quarter-final). If I do that, I've got a good chance of winning."

Murray will have the advantage of having spent far less time on court than his rival so far during the tournament.

The Scot is yet to drop a set and has completed his five matches quicker than any of the semi-finalists.

Cilic, on the other hand, has been taken to five sets on three occasions and needed to go the distance to book his last-four spot when he beat Andy Roddick 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-3.

"I feel fresh. I don't know how he feels," Murray said.

"From my side, I feel good physically. That's not going to be an issue for me in the match. I don't know how he's feeling."

Cilic will play in his first major semi-final and, while he admitted he may be forced to "survive" the match after his exertions so far, the Croatian remained optimistic about his chances.

"It's not easy when you come into these stages of a tournament where you didn't get to before too many times," he said.

"It's not easy psychologically to be able to bring your best tennis when you need it.

"But for Murray definitely it's going to take also a lot of energy out of me.

"So we'll see how I'm going to be able to survive."

World No 1 Roger Federer yesterday reached his 23rd consecutive grand slam semi-final after overcoming his recent tormentor Nikolay Davydenko.

The Swiss recovered emphatically from losing the opening set after which he reeled off 13 consecutive games to form the foundation of his 2-6 6-3 6-0 7-5 victory.

Federer, bidding for his fourth title at Melbourne Park, will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last-four after the Frenchman won his repeat of the 2008 final against Novak Djokovic 7-6 (10/8) 6-7 (5/7) 1-6 6-3 6-1 in three hours and 52 minutes.

Federer took a toilet break at the end of the first set of his match but it did not slow Davydenko's momentum as he grabbed another break and was 15-40 ahead on Federer's serve.

But the Swiss responded with a run of 13 consecutive games that sucked the life out of Davydenko's challenge.

"I was in a tough situation – I knew I wasn't looking very good," Federer said.

"But that's the beauty of best of five sets. I wasn't panicking even though I maybe would have lost the second set had I lost another point there at that stage.

"I just relaxed and thought if his level drops just a little bit the whole thing might change for the better and it did.

"I couldn't believe the way it changed. I'm happy the way I was able to go on an incredible run."

Tsonga's victory over Djokovic in the night session quarter-final was marred by a stomach bug that hindered the Serbian midway through the match.

The 22-year-old at one stage needed to leave the court to vomit and from there his challenge petered out.

"I had a little problem with the stomach even before the match," Djokovic said.

"I started feeling it a lot after third set when I just couldn't hold on. After two games I had to go to the toilet. There was no other way otherwise I would throw up on the court."