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PARIS: Five-time champion Rafael Nadal sparked off his 25th birthday celebrations on Friday by blowing Andy Murray off court with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win to reach the French Open final.
The Spaniard, bidding to equal Bjorn Borg’s record of six titles at Roland Garros, outplayed the British fourth seed in a three-hour-17-minute display of power and stamina as he set up a much-awaited showdown with Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.
“I’m happy to be back here,” Nadal said courtside after throwing his bandana into the crowd.
“Andy is a fantastic player, he deserves to win a grand slam very, very soon. Now I’m going to play the best player of the moment or the best player in history.
“But the most important thing is to be there.”
Nadal, who will lose his world number one spot if Serbia’s Djokovic reaches the final later on Friday, was often at his brilliant best on Court Philippe Chatrier.
His amazing court coverage, vicious forehands and crosscourt backhands were too much to handle for Murray, who was bidding to become the first British man to reach the final at Roland Garros since Bunny Austin in 1937.
Nadal, who now has a 44-1 record at the French Open, teased Murray by handing him a few openings. But that was as good as it got for the fourth seed because almost every time he earned a break point, Nadal slammed the door shut with yet another fizzing winner.
Nadal converted six of his 13 points while Murray managed only three from 18 chances. Nadal broke in the third game with a forehand winner down the line.
Murray, however, set up three break points in the following game but could only watch on as Nadal used his sliced, left-handed serve to save them.
He punished the Scot with his trademark crosscourt forehand winners to move 5-1 up as he gradually found his rhythm.
But Murray, who showed his class with a few exquisite drop shots and delicate lobs, would not give up without a fight and he pulled a break back for 5-3 when Nadal netted a routine forehand.
Following an argument with the umpire over a line call, Nadal appeared to lose his focus and allowed Murray to earn a break point. But the Spaniard pushed his opponent to the limit and pocketed the set when the Scot netted.
Both players traded breaks midway through the second set.
The 11th game became a battle of wills as the ball became a crosscourt pendulum during several sinew-stretching rallies, with both players determined to gain the upper hand.
In the end, it was the claycourt master who came out on top with yet another crosscourt forehand to seal a decisive break for 6-5.
He comfortably held to love to go two sets up as Murray piled up unforced errors.
Nadal opened up a 2-0 lead in the third set as Murray seemed to run out of steam. The 24-year-old Scot hung on in the third set but in the end he was powerless to stop the world number one from reaching his sixth final in seven years.
Meanwhile, unseeded Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka won the women’s doubles final at the French Open after dominating the pair of India’s Sania Mirza and Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-3.
Results (prefix number denotes seeding): Men’s singles: Semi-final: 1-Rafael Nadal (Spain) bt 4-Andy Murray (Great Britain) 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
Women’s doubles: Final: Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) bt 7-Sania Mirza/Elena Vesnina (India/Russia) 6-4, 6-3.—Agencies
