Andy Murray paid tribute to his opponent Marin Cilic after he beat the Croatian to go through to the final of the Australian Open. The Scot came out on top with a 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 win in the Rod Laver Arena.
Cilic took the first set and was a break up in the second but Murray turned the tide and his opponent began to look tired as the match reached its conclusion. The British number one said he was impressed with the fight Cilic showed having played so many long matches in the tournament before the semi-final.
"He showed incredible guts,” Murray said. “He played three five-set matches coming into this, and he made it so tough for me.
“He was clearly tired in the end but we're going to have some more great matches in the future."
Murray turned the match in his favour with a stunning forehand at the end of a rally in the second set and he revealed it was a shot he had perfected on the practice courts.
"I had a break point and I just managed to chase it down... Honestly? I actually practice that shot quite a lot in training,” he said. After watching the replay, and his reaction, on the arena’s giant screen he joked: “I never realised my mouth was so big!"
The Scot was relaxed following the thrilling win but will now turn his thoughts to Sunday’s final. Murray won’t know his opponent until after Friday’s semi-final between Roger Federer and Jo Wilfried Tsonga.
Tsonga reached the final in 2008 but lost out to Novad Djokovic but Federer has reached the final of the last seven Grand Slam events. Murray said he did not mind who he faced but suspected he would be facing the Swiss star on Sunday.
"I would expect Roger to come through and he's so good in slam finals but if I go out there and play my best I think I've got a chance of winning and it's really exciting," Murray said.
