Murray upsets Nadal to reach final

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sixth-seeded Briton Andy Murray reached his first grand slam final in commanding style by upsetting world number one Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-6 4-6 6-4 at the U.S. Open on Sunday.

The shrewd Scot outplayed the Spanish left-hander in a semi-final contest that began on Saturday on Louis Armstrong court and ended more than 24 hours later on Arthur Ashe Stadium after being interrupted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna.

Leading by two sets but trailing 2-3 in the third overnight, Murray lost the third set before breaking the Spaniard in the 10th game of the fourth, wrapping up the biggest victory of his career with a backhand winner.

The 21-year-old Briton will play four-times defending champion Roger Federer in Monday's final, the Swiss maestro having beaten Serb Novak Djokovic on Saturday.

"Very relieved," an emotional Murray said in a courtside interview in a sun-splashed Arthur Ashe Stadium after ripping 65 winners past Nadal, including 21 aces.

"To come back after yesterday when I was two sets up was obviously tough to sleep on but I am so glad I came through in the end.

"The atmosphere in here was unbelievable today. They (the crowd) only got a set-and-a-half worth of tennis but I thought they were unbelievable. That really helped me through in the end."

Murray, who will attempt to become the first British male to win a grand slam title since Fred Perry at the 1936 U.S. Open, has a 2-1 winning record against world number two Federer.

"He's probably the greatest player ever so to get the chance to play against him in a slam final is an honor," said the Scot, the first Briton since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to advance to the championship match at the U.S. Open.

"But I have played well against him in the past so hopefully I can do the same again tomorrow."

ANXIOUS MOMENT

Nadal, who broke Murray at the start of the third set before the match spilled over into a second day, survived one anxious moment in the 10th game but held serve to win the third set.

After hitting a forehand long, the Majorcan saved a break point with an ace before winning the next two points with crunching forehands to peg back Murray's lead.

Continually pressurized by Murray's clever variations from the baseline, Nadal was forced to save seven break points in a marathon second game in the fourth set before holding serve.

Murray, understandably demoralized after losing a 15-minute game totaling 22 points, was then broken in the third after making four successive unforced errors. The last of them, a wild forehand that sailed wide, gave Nadal a 2-1 lead.