THE goal is the final.
Andy Murray said he was not "satisfied" with reaching his fourth consecutive semi-final and is now determined to take the next step in his journey at the All England Club.
The 25-year-old Scot faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France tomorrow for the chance to play against Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic in Sunday's showdown. "The goal is to win the next match and make the final for the first time," said Murray after his defeat of David Ferrer, the world No.5. "I thought I played well. It is the hardest match I have played."
Murray emphasised he was not settling for a place in the last four. "When you start each tournament you want to win it. I'm not thinking: 'great I am in the semi-finals'. You want to try to go further. It's been a good tournament so far but I want it to continue. I'd be disappointed if I lost before the final in any event."
He added: "I've had a good run here the last few years but I'm not satisfied. I want to go further."
Murray said he would draw on his experience from losing three semi-finals at Wimbledon, two to Rafael Nadal and the other to Andy Roddick. Of his next opponent, he said: "I have played him quite a lot and know him well." Murray, who has a 5-1 winning record against the world No.6, said: "I need to focus on what I need to do well against him and what has worked well against him in the past."
Murray said he "blocks" himself away from all the hype surrounding Wimbledon so he can perform at his best. He said experience over seven years had helped and "having the right people" around him. He added: "People you trust. people you respect. You don't feel you need to listen to what an ex-player might saying or a journalist or a pundit or whatever. You block yourself away from all of that and you listen to the people you trust. They give you the confidence you need."
Murray also has ben inspired by the example of LeBron James of the Miami Heat who has finally won an NBA finals. The world No. 4, a basketball fan, said: "He has come close to winning a lot of times. For me it is a similar situation. I've been close a lot of times and not quite made it. I have to keep putting myself into the situation and hopefully it will click."
He added: "There were a lot of people out there that didn't want him to win. There's a lot of people who said he would never win. There's a lot of people who said he never played his best in finals. They said that in the fourth quarter of games he never steps up. Then you see how he played the whole of the finals, the whole of the play-offs. Sometimes it takes guys a bit longer than others."
The personal resonance was obvious. Murray, at 25, is desperate to seize his chance at Wimbledon.
His defeated opponent believes the Scot can win that elusive major. Ferrer, a gallant and skilful loser, said the key moment was when he was serving at 5-4 in the second set and was broken by Murray. But he paid tribute to the coolness and the technique of the Scot.
"Andy played really good in the important moments," he said. "He played more aggressive than me, and he was better."
The 30-year-old Spaniard believed he would still have had a tough fight if he had won the second set, stating that Murray could still have come back from that deficit. "Of course, Andy now has chance to win Wimbledon," he said. "He's an unbelievable player. He deserves to win a grand slam."
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