26 Jan 2013

Murray beats Federer to make final against Djokovic

5:51 am on 26 January 2013

The Swiss tennis great Roger Federer has bowed out in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in a five-set loss to Scotland's Andy Murray.

Murray now plays world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic for the title on Sunday, after the 25-year-old Briton beat Federer in a grand slam for the first time, 6-4 6-7 6-3 6-7 6-2 in four hours.

Despite being one of the few players to hold a superior career record against the Swiss, Murray had never managed to beat Federer in three previous attempts.

But he had looked the more likely to win the match from the outset with a superior service game and aggressive shotmaking.

Still the 31-year-old, 17-times grand slam winner proved he was still a force to be reckoned with by forcing a fifth set.

The US Open and Olympic champion, however, got off to a storming start in the fifth, racing out to a 3-0 lead and after being two points from the match in the fourth set was not prepared to let the opportunity slip again.