Published>Thu, Jan 28 10 08:29 PM
One magical point was all it took for Andy Murray to convince the doubters that he has what it takes to win the Australian Open.
The Briton brought the packed crowd at Rod Laver Arena to their feet with a miraculous winner in his semi-final win over Marin Cilic on Thursday.
Murray looked to be in trouble against the Croat when he lost the first set and was labouring through the second when he broke his serve and spirit with one of the best points ever seen on a tennis court.
Needing to win the point to avoid losing his serve for the first time in the match, Cilic seemed to have got a lucky break when he blasted a shot into the net tape that dribbled on to Murray's side of the court.
Before the Croat could celebrate, the Scotsman sprinted forward and managed to scoop the ball back over the net.
Cilic saw Murray coming and was in a position to flick the ball back across the court with a backhand but the Scot made another desperate lunge to keep the point alive.
So Cilic decided to take the aerial route, lobbing the ball over Murray and deep into the back court, leaving his opponent stranded at the net.
Most players would have happily given up and applauded Cilic but Murray instinctively turned around and set off after the ball.
He got to the baseline just in the nick of time to spin around and swish the ball back over his shoulder and past a bewildered Cilic.
"I just managed to chase it down," Murray said. "Honestly, I actually practise that shot quite a lot in training!"
OUTRAGEOUS SHOT
Cilic was less impressed, blaming himself for not finishing off the point earlier.
"It wasn't demoralising. He made it. I was just a little bit angry at myself because I had an easier shot when I played the backhand short cross court there," he said.
That one point changed the momentum of the match and Murray went on to win 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 to go into Sunday's final against either Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
But not before he pulled off one more outrageous shot for the highlights reel, whipping the ball between the post and the umpire's chair for a winner.
"It feels great. When it happens and you're ahead, you get an adrenaline rush at the end of the match, very close to finishing it off," Murray said.
"I didn't feel like I had the match won but I felt pretty relaxed in the last game. So those moments are great. You know, they don't happen that often, so you've got to enjoy them."
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