Fans got their money’s worth in the second men’s semifinal at the Australian Open on Friday when Andy Murray overcame a 1-2 sets deficit to defeat Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 to gain the final against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
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It will be the fifth Australian Open for Murray, who has never raised the trophy. The 28-year-old Murray has won Slam titles at the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon, beating Djokovic in both finals.
Winning the third set tiebreak to go up two sets to one, in the fourth set Raonic left the court for a medical timeout and came back with his movement looking shaky. Later in the set the Canadian received courtside treatment on his upper right leg.
In the final set Murray jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the obviously-hobbled Canuck, eventually closing out the match 6-2.
“He definitely slowed down, which was unfortunate for him,” Murray said of Raonic’s apparent groin injury. “It would have been nice to play a more competitive set. Obviously got a bit lucky with that.”
It was the second Grand Slam semifinal for Raonic after 2014 Wimbledon where he lost to Roger Federer.
“Just a difficulty to push off my leg with my adductor midway through the third set. That’s what it was,” Raonic said. “Probably the most heartbroken I felt on court, but that’s what it is…I think maybe that’s why I sort of lashed out after I did at the start of the fifth set. I guess that was sort of just the whole frustration of everything sort of getting out. I don’t think that’s like myself to do, but sometimes it’s a little bit too much to keep in.”
Murray in the final will look to avenge Aussie Opens final losses in 2011, 2013 and 2015, overall posting a 9-21 career mark against Djokovic.
“You can’t afford to do anything poorly — Novak’s played extremely well,” Murray said. “We’ve played a bunch of times here, and hopefully this time it will be a different result.”
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