British number one Andy Murray reached his second US Open final after overcoming Tomas Berdych in four sets.
Scotsman battles the elements to reach fifth Grand Slam final
British number one Andy Murray reached his second US Open final after overcoming Tomas Berdych in four sets on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Olympic gold medallist was made to work hard by the Czech sixth seed but he eventually came through in blustery conditions 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) in three hours and 58 minutes.
It will be the 25-year-old's second consecutive grand slam final after his Wimbledon loss to Roger Federer and his second final at Flushing Meadows.
Wind
A storm delayed the start of play and, although the rain cleared, an extremely strong wind blew the whole way through the match, disrupting play on numerous occasions and making life extremely tough for both players.
Both repeatedly had to abort their serves as the gusts caught their ball tosses and were forced to slow down their serves just keep them in court.
Murray dropped his serve in the first set when he agreed to replay a crucial point after his cap was blown off his head, distracting Berdych as he scrambled to get to a drop shot.
However, the incident clearly played on Murray more than his opponent who eventually closed out a tight first set in 77 minutes.
But after the drama of the opening set, it was the Briton who coped with the conditions better as the match went on.
Murray, trying to become the first British man to win a Grand Slam title since Fred Perry at the 1936 US Open found his rhythm in the second set asserting his authority over his opponent.
And the Dunblane-born player broke three more times in the third set to seal it in no time at all.
Nerves
Murray, who has lost his four grand slam finals to date, three against Federer and one against Novak Djokovic appeared to be on his way to a comfortable win when he opened up a 3-0 lead in the fourth before momentarily losing his way.
Berdych broke back and forced a tiebreaker. He led 5-2 and got to set point but Murray rallied back to win 9-7 and move through to the final.
Berdych failed to find the form which upset Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, making 64 unforced errors in the match.
The Scotsman will face either defending champion Novak Djokovic or David Ferrer in the final, which has been moved back to Monday after storms caused the postponement of the second semi-final on Saturday night.
