wimbledon Scot seals last-four date with Nadal as Swiss capitulates Pages 2-5

The world No.4’s straight sets defeat of Feliciano Lopez of Spain has set up tomorrow’s clash with the defending champion.

On a day when Roger Federer crashed out of the tournament at the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic survived a scare to beat Bernard Tomic, Murray thrashed Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to move into his third consecutive semi-final at Wimbledon.

He is preparing to go further. “I believe I can win against him,” said Murray of coming up against Nadal who defeated him in the semi-final last year. “I had chances last year,” said the Scot who has defeated the Spaniard in grand slams in Australia and the US.

“I just have to have a better game plan. Sometimes it comes down to strategy,” he said. “I have to go out there and play well, serve well and believe I have a chance.”

Murray, who has lost only two sets en route to the last four, added: “I feel good. I have played well so far and I feel comfortable. I don’t expect to be comfortable in the next match. I know I’ll have to come through moments when I’m struggling and have to come from behind sometimes. You have to be prepared for that.”

The Scot also played down a groin strain he suffered in the third set, believing it will not cause him a problem.

Nadal, who defeated Mardy Fish of the USA in four sets, will play against Murray with his injured foot numbed by painkillers. The Spaniard, who said he regularly defeated the Scot in their games on the PlayStation games console, expects a tougher challenge on the court.

“The match will be very difficult for me. He’s playing at a very, very high level. We’ll see what’s going on. For me, the last few months Andy has been very, very good,” said the reigning champion. “We will see what’s going on in that semi-finals. I always enjoy playing these kind of matches,” he said.

Nadal, who said Murray was enjoying a very good season, was surprised to hear of the defeat of Federer, who lost for the first time in a grand slam after taking a two-set lead.

Federer tried desperately to be upbeat but is enduring a long drought for a player who has won 16 majors. His last major victory was the Australian Open of 2010 and his defeat to Tsonga has raised questions about the future of the Swiss player.

“Except the score, many, many things went right,” said Federer, trying to put the bravest of faces on a devastating loss. “I thought I played a good match. I’m actually pretty pleased with my performance today. It’s kind of hard going out of the tournament that way, but unfortunately it does happen sometimes.”

Asked if he had dealt a death blow to the Federer dynasty at majors, Tsonga said: “I do not know. Only the future will tell us.”

The immediate future pits the Frenchman against Djokovic, who shrugged off a stiff challenge by Tomic to reach his fifth consecutive grand slam semi-final.