Murray Completes Upset of Nadal

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Sept. 7 -- The fans who filed into Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday afternoon had no idea whether they were settling in for 20 minutes of tennis or two hours.

When Saturday's downpour halted the U.S. Open semifinal between world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Britain's Andy Murray, a sluggish Nadal was four games from defeat, having lost the first two sets.

So when play resumed under glorious blue skies left by Tropical Storm Hanna's wake, it seemed that the outcome would hinge on whether 24 hours' rest had restored Nadal to fighting form.

As it turned out, Nadal's fitness had little to do with it. Murray was simply brilliant, bedeviling the hard-slugging Spaniard with a masterful array of shots en route to a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4 victory that earned him a richly deserved spot in his first Grand Slam event final, where four-time defending champion Roger Federer awaits.

To the delight of fans, it took Murray nearly 90 minutes to close the match Sunday after Nadal won the third set. But Murray regrouped, flexing newfound physical and mental resolve to prove that the commanding lead he built Saturday was no fluke.

At 21, Murray is no longer the sport's streaky genius, known for having more talent than poise. On Saturday and again on Sunday, he was far more creative than Nadal, varying the ball's tempo and trajectory so cleverly that the Spaniard, who thrives on pace and power, never found his rhythm.

Murray had an answer for each of Nadal's weapons, handling the heavy topspin and relentless groundstrokes with ease.

And when Murray switched from defense to offense, he made Nadal look one-dimensional, hitting 65 winners to the Spaniard's 32.

Even more impressively, when Murray faltered -- as he did early in the fourth set, failing to convert seven break points in the second game and getting broken easily in the third game -- he bounced back.

That ability, as Murray explained afterward, started with overhauling his physical regimen at the end of 2007 season.

Not long ago, the Scottish teen looked like a baby giraffe that tired easily. And he behaved like a petulant adolescent, quick to fire coaches and quick to implode when things didn't go his way.

Now that he has added muscle mass to his 6-foot-3 frame, Murray marches on court confident he can slug away with the game's best.