IF the sun continues to shine on Andy Murray, as it has thus far this week, Britain's 73 years of waiting may yet come to an end at SW19 on Sunday.
Normal service has been resumed at Wimbledon. The roof was redundant, the skies were blue, and Murray's thumping victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero was red hot.
Any doubts that crept into the hordes of expectant fans jam-packed onto Murray Mount,
after Monday's nail-biting five-set thriller with Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, were well and truly expunged yesterday.
Ferrero wilted in the blistering heat on centre court, but Murray's fires were stoked and he is now just two victories away from being the first male Briton since 1936 to hoist the gentlemen's All England title.
The world No.3 helped himself to 20 points from 21 on offer in a second-set demolition job on the hapless Spaniard in a 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 victory. Far from the four-hour drama on Monday, Murray spent just one hour 43 minutes under the SW19 sun, just 60 seconds longer than Roger Federer spent in his last-eight victory over Ivo Karlovic.
The writing has been on the wall for some time, but surely these two have a date with destiny on Sunday afternoon.
Where Murray hesitated against Wawrinka, he was clinical against Ferrero and it is one thing for a potential champion to grind out victories when not on top form, it's quite another to learn from your mistakes.
But that's exactly how the Scot reacted to book his spot in the last four, the first Briton to do so since Tim Henman in 2002, for what will be only his second semi-final appearance at a Grand Slam event.
And what a difference 12 months makes for Murray. This time last year a nerve-jangling five-set victory over Richard Gasquet in round four left the Scot out of puff for his quarter-final clash with Rafael Nadal.
Murray did not last long against the eventual champion, but this time around, Murray is much leaner and a great deal meaner.
"It's a great feeling and obviously I'm happy to win in straight sets after what happened on Monday," said Murray.
"And it's great for me to get to the semi-finals. I don't think it brings any added pressure because I've been to this stage before at the US Open last year.
"It wasn't a great start to the match, there were lots of errors from both of us, but it was very hot out there and I think that made a difference.
"It was pretty different match – the court was a lot quicker because it was very dry so I got a lot of cheap points on my serve.
"It took me a while to get used to the conditions again to be honest but I thought I played well in the second and third sets.
"I've got to keep going because it doesn't matter how well I've played up until now, I understand that I could lose the next match if I don't play at my best."
It was the British No.1 making all the running against Ferrero. Murray accelerated through the gears in the second set and the former world No.1, dubbed The Mosquito, was swatted out of the way.
But Murray will need further improvements should he reach the final. He began the first set just as sluggishly as he did against Wawrinka but, where the Swiss ace was inspired, Ferrero was just as inaccurate.
A sub-standard first set ensued but Murray has more fighting spirit than Ferrero and he ground out a one-set lead as the crucial break was handed to him with a double fault. Murray was seemingly not needing to get out of second gear, but an early break in the second set from Ferrero – the French Open champion in 2003 – dispelled that myth.
With the scores at deuce in the fifth game of the set, and Ferrero 3-1 up, Murray went into overdrive – he won 20 of the next 21 points to claim the second set – the rest was pretty much routine. The third set was a mere formality, wrapped up by Murray 6-2, with consummate ease as he booked a semi-final clash with former world No.1 Andy Roddick, who came through a thrilling five-set clash with Australian Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.
Murray holds the edge over the 2003 US Open champion, having proved victorious in six of their previous eight encounters.
On grass, Murray is ahead as well, having defeated the American at Wimbledon in 2006, but the Scot is only too aware he must be at the top of his game to book his place in the final.
"If I'm not at my best then I'm going to lose against Roddick. He is a former world No.1 and Grand Slam winner.
"My consistency since the last Wimbledon has been very good bar maybe one poor match at the Olympics.
"I'd hope I have an extra gear if I need one, we'll have to wait and see. If you are in a game when you have to up you level then I'd hope I could do that."
The full article contains 898 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
