Andy Murray plays his semifinal on Friday against Milos Raonic.
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The Scot is seeking his third Grand Slam title while coping with the stress of having heavily pregnant wife Kim back home – and his father-in-law Nigel collapsing here in Melbourne.
Here is how to watch all the action from Friday to the men’s final on Sunday as the event reaches its climax.
Murray has had a lot on his mind this time.
He was not going to let Raonic, the world No 14, stand in the way of thatso he did his business. This is the seventh encounter between these players, and the head-to-head stands at three wins each, the last one in Madrid where the Brit won in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
“He came out hitting the ball very clean at the beginning”, said Murray. I think it’s going to be a race to who can get in the comfort zone. That was the key.
“But he definitely slowed down…it would have been nice to play a competitive fifth set”. “When that comes, I’ll deal with it accordingly”. Murray has a habit of making a mess of things and I expect more of that Friday night in Melbourne. I need to not have any lapses in concentration. “Hopefully this time it’ll be different”. Alas, he was only delaying the inevitable as Djokovic won 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The Guess model has been spotted cheering Raonic on courtside in Melbourne throughout the tournament, and has now taken her encouragement to social media.
All he knows for sure is that he was beginning to play a bit better towards the end of his previous match and that gives him cause for optimism.
No. 7-seeded Kerber led 3-0 before Konta went on a four-game roll to get back into the set.
Milos Raonic reaches for a backhand versus Gael Monfils.
Novak Djokovic has won the second set 6-2 of his semifinal against Roger Federer after taking the first 6-1. He doesn’t half relish a fight, and he had one here. He pummeled a racket early in the fifth, falling behind by two breaks, and Murray improved his five-set record to 19-7. When he went to his chair, it was 19 on the spin – his sixth hold to love clinched with his fourth ace.
Murray versus Raonic promises to be an intriguing clash of styles, with power player Raonic pitted against one of the game’s best returners and defenders.
Raonic blew it at 5-6 in the second. In the fourth round, he had a five set match that lasted nearly four hours against the champion of 2014, Stan Wawrinka.
The 26-year-old posted a photo to her 255,000 Instagram followers on Thursday in a weird get-up to mimic her tennis star boyfriend. It was not quite Lleyton Hewitt level of abuse, but it was out of character for the normally mild-mannered Canadian.
In Raonic’s opening service game, Murray had triple-break point, and though he failed to convert, he finally capitalized on set point with a blistering service return that Raonic dumped into the net. And what a break it was as his opponent failed to get a point on the board, hitting into the net, while Murray’s return ability rose to the fore. While there were no apparent signs of injury, he was broken at love a few games later.
It proved only to be a delay for the inevitable, though, and Raonic finished with a challenge that proved well-placed to take the first set 6-4.
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He had more to contend with against Raonic, who was playing in only his second Grand Slam semifinal, and aiming to be the first Canadian man to reach the final of a major. He had other places to be.
