-
Related
Andy Murray's bid to reach a first grand slam final was thwarted
by the weather on Sunday when his US Open semi-final against world
number one Rafael Nadal was halted by rain with the Briton leading
6-2 7-6 2-3.
With the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna expected to roll through
the New York area for the rest of the day, play was suspended for
the day and the match will resume on Monday, weather
permitting.
Murray, serving powerfully and dominating the Spaniard from the
baseline with his deeper groundstrokes, swept through the first set
in just over half an hour before clinching the second 7-5 in a
tiebreak.
The Scot, competing for the first time in the last four at a grand
slam, had ripped 44 winners past Nadal, including 17 aces, when
their match was forced into a second day.
Left-hander Nadal, the French Open and Wimbledon champion, has not
lost to the Scot in five previous meetings but, like his opponent,
was competing in his first US Open semi-final.
Sixth seed Murray was bidding to become the first Briton since Greg
Rusedski in 1997 to reach the US Open final.
Whoever wins will play four-times defending champion Roger Federer
in the final, the Swiss master having battled past Serb Novak
Djokovic 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2 earlier Sunday.
Murray, a winner of three ATP titles this season, broke Nadal in
the third game of the match when the Spaniard hit a forehand long
and again in the seventh with a forehand pass down the line to lead
5-2.
Clouds looming
With threatening rain clouds looming, the 21-year-old Briton served
out to wrap up the first set in 33 minutes after Nadal netted a
backhand pass.
It was the first time the Scot had won a set against Nadal since
their first encounter at the 2007 Australian Open.
Nadal had to work hard to hold serve in the second, saving two
breakpoints in the fifth and 11th games before the set went into a
tiebreak.
After an early exchange of mini-breaks, Murray clinched it 7-5 when
the struggling Nadal hit a backhand wide.
Against the run of play, the Spaniard broke Murray in the first
game of the third set when the Briton hit a forehand
long.
The next four games went with serve until play was suspended at
2:48pm (Saturday) local time because of light
drizzle.
The players were kept courtside for a further three minutes before
the rain intensified and Murray and Nadal left the
arena.
With poor weather forecast on Sunday, their match was switched to
the Louis Armstrong Stadium while Federer and Djokovic were
contesting the other semi-final on the Arthur Ashe Stadium
court.
