Nadal Tops Murray; Closing On Sixth Title

© Getty ImagesFive-time champion Rafael Nadal has a 44-1 record at Roland Garros.

Top seed Rafael Nadal celebrated his 25th birthday on Friday by beating fourth seed Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the Roland Garros final and stand one victory away from matching Bjorn Borg's feat of six titles on Parisian clay.

"[I have] a lot of respect for the great Bjorn, but I am focus[ing] on try[ing] to play well," said Nadal. "For me, is much more important [to] win Roland Garros than equal Bjorn."

Nadal will remain World No. 1 if he beats his Swiss rival Roger Federer in Sunday's final. A Federer victory will see Novak Djokovic rise to No. 1 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings for the first time.

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Nadal will contest his 12th Grand Slam championship (9-2 overall) on Sunday. He is currently No. 7 on the all-time major title holders list. The Mallorcan has an incredible 44-1 record at Roland Garros, including titles in 2005-08 and 2010.

At the end of the match, Nadal had saved 15 of 18 break points in three hours and 24 minutes of gruelling baseline play. The Spaniard is now 11-4 lifetime versus Murray. "I saved a lot of break points," said Nadal. "I played well in [the] important moments.

"Being in the final of Roland Garros you can't have problems. You cannot have doubts. If you compare from now to one week ago, [my form and confidence] is completely different."

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Under a blue Parisian sky and the gaze of 1997, 2000-01 titlist Gustavo Kuerten and 1989 runner-up Stefan Edberg, Nadal raced into a 5-1 lead despite the on-court temperature of 33º Celsius. The first set looked like it was a foregone conclusion. Murray had not played badly.

Nadal saved three break points in a 12-point fourth game. Murray defended valiantly, keeping his strokes away from Nadal's forehand that so often dictates play. Bit-by-bit the Scot recovered. He had two break point chances at 4-5, but Nadal outslugged him from the baseline and surprised with a serve-volley point and deft touch at the net. On his third set point opportunity at 40/30, Nadal sealed the 62-minute opener when Murray hit a forehand down the line into the net. Both players hit 11 winners in the set, while Murray had been unable to convert five of his six break point opportunities.

Nadal's service rhythm was momentarily disrupted at the start of the second set, as the wind began to swirl around Court Philippe Chatrier. At 0-1, he recovered from 15/40 and three games later benefited from Murray's lapse in concentration. Three unforced errors cost Murray dearly. He saved one break point, but quick footwork from Nadal and his willingness to hit off his favoured forehand wing saw the Spaniard open up a 3-2 lead. But Murray got back on level terms immediately. Nadal's first serve crumbled.

It was now the heart of the match. Nadal squandered two break point opportunities at 3-3, 15/40, making four straight groundstroke errors. But the Spaniard recharged and proved relentless. Keeping Murray well behind the baseline in long rallies, Nadal opened up the court and found gaps with blistering forehands. Again Murray got back on serve, at 4-4, stepping into the court to hit deep returns that left Nadal off-balance.

At 5-5, Murray was unable to capitalise on a 40/15 lead. He couldn't hit a first serve into court, while Nadal began to pepper the baseline with heavy topspin. Inevitably the pressure was too much for Murray, who began to see the match slipping away when Nadal sealed his third break of the set. Minutes later, the clay king coolly took a two-sets-to-love lead after two hours and 16 minutes of play.

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The capacity crowd soon quietened, sensing a quick end, when Nadal broke Murray's serve in the first game of the third set. But Murray, as he has done all the championship, battled hard. He failed to convert break point opportunities at 1/2, 30/40, at 2/3, 15/40 and three at 3-4, as Nadal's court craft got him out of trouble each time. Nadal remained solid from behind the baseline and surprised Murray by rushing to the net to execute angled volley winners.

Nadal has a 23-2 record on clay courts this year, including two ATP World Tour titles at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Ferrer both times). He has a 42-6 match record on the season.

Murray dropped to 18-8 in 2011. He was the second British man in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals. Tim Henman lost to Guillermo Coria over four sets in 2004. The last British man to reach the Paris final was Henry "Bunny" Austin in 1937.

"I thought I did well," said Murray. "Everyone seems to think it's easy against Rafa to just come into the net or come in or go for big shots, but you do have to be very patient. Sometimes I didn't quite get the ball I was looking for, and sometimes when I did I made a few mistakes. But I think it was a close match. I don't think there was too much in it. He just played better than me today.

"Going into the grass [swing] I have to take positives from that, but I also need to look at things that I need to work on, not only for the grass-court season but beyond that as well. So I look forward to getting back on the practice court."