Murray battles into Australian Open final

Andy Murray has secured his place in his fifth Australian Open final after overcoming a stern challenge from Milos Raonic to win 4-6 7-5 6-7 6-4 6-2. The world number two needed to come back from a set down twice as the Canadian utilised his powerful game exceptionally, but Murray dug deep and physically outlasted his injury-hampered opponent to eventually earn the victory.

In the opening set, Raonic made a blistering start as his early aggression saw him break Murray easily in the first game of the match. The Brit though threatened to respond immediately as his opponent gifted three break points to recover the break, but the Murray’s indecisiveness and Raonic’s huge serving meant the Canadian would survive and hold for a 2-0 lead. Even though the world number two was in danger of going down a double break, Murray stood firm and continued to hold his service games to reduce the deficit. However, one break was enough for Raonic, and he eventually clinched the set with a powerful ace to take the lead.

As the second set unfolded, Murray started to hold his own service games more efficiently and exert some pressure on his opponent. Raonic was forced to save break points at times and found it more difficult to hold his serve throughout the set, but the Canadian managed to successfully sustain his offensive intent when needed to keep Murray at bay. However, at 6-5, the Brit crafted another break point opportunity and this time he converted it with a dipping return that Raonic couldn’t handle, to level the match at one set apiece.

The third set saw both players hold serve relatively comfortably throughout, as the set quickly progressed. However, in the latter stages, Murray was forced to recover from 0-30 down twice and save a break point at 5-5 before edging ahead in the scoreline. In the following game, Raonic also faced a potentially tricky situation at 30-30, but both players were outstanding under extreme pressure, so the set would need a tiebreak to decide the outcome. But, it was the Canadian who took control, smacking a forehand return winner to establish the crucial lead as he continued to stay on the offensive. Despite Murray’s best efforts, Raonic held his nerve impeccably and he sealed the set with a booming ace to regain control of the match.

In the fourth set, once again both Murray and Raonic had little trouble holding serve in the early stages, even though the Canadian needed medical attention for an injury mid-way during the set. However, at 3-3, Murray raised his game and a series of deep returns and aggressive groundstrokes extracted the decisive break for the Brit to go ahead. Raonic though threatened to capitalise on a few inexplicable errors from his opponent to create a break point, but Murray regained his focus to consolidate the advantage. With Murray serving for the set, the Canadian continued to attack and fashioned more break points, but the Brit recovered once again with a series of gutsy second serves to eventually take the set.

As the final set unfolded, Raonic continued to show more signs of physical pain but the world number two showed him no mercy, punishing his opponent for an error strewn game to clinch the early break. Murray quickly consolidated the advantage and was in ruthless form, using his blend of aggression and variety to probe his opponent’s defence and wear him down. The Brit gained the double break and took complete control of the match, using the baseline rallies to test his injury hampered opponent. The Canadian did remarkably well to hold serve after saving more break points, but Murray comfortably closed out the match to progress through to the final.

In the final, Murray will meet long-time rival Novak Djokovic in what will be a reprise of their contest last year in Melbourne, which the Serbian won in four sets to clinch the title.