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Andy Murray takes on Rafael Nadal this afternoon as he aims to reach his first ever Wimbledon final, writes Thomas Rooney.
Many argue that this is what it all comes down to for the British No.1. Beat Nadal and the Grand Slam dream edges an incredible amount closer.
Of course he would still have a job to do in the final, but surely if Murray can raise his game enough to defeat the World No.1, he will go to the final at the weekend in fantastic spirits.
We cannot get ahead of ourselves though. It is all about this fascinating semi-final clash. Having breezed through the tournament so far, this is where Murray has to be at his absolute best.
Both players have had injury concerns ahead of this match, but they each came through practice sessions yesterday and they are primed to do battle in front of an excited Centre Court crowd.
Looking at the betting for this one, Nadal is without doubt favourite. He is an incredible force in Grand Slam tennis and has already beaten Murray twice at this tournament before – in 2008 and 2010.
The Spaniard has a 11-4 head-to-head record over Murray too, so it would certainly be against the norm is the Scotsman progressed to the final.
This doesn’t mean Murray can’t do it though. He is playing excellent tennis right now and with the backing of the home crowd, can be competitive with Nadal.
That is the first step to beating Nadal of course – competing with him. Get the French Open Champion into a long-haul match and nobody knows what could happen.
This is why the first set is so crucial. Should Nadal get off to a winning start having broken Murray’s serve early on, British tennis fans might start to get a sense of déjà-vu.
However, if Murray can get off to a flier and win the first set, even take the first set to a tie-break, then we know we have a game on our hands. From this point, Murray is talented and focused enough to make it to the final.
The 24-year-old will have a nervous wait before getting the match started though. Murray and Nadal are second on centre court after the first semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
When the World No.1 and No.4 step onto the court though, it promises to be worth the wait.
