Andy Murray: Why He Will Beat Roger Federer in Australian Open Semifinals
The Grand Slam tournament is now a different landscape for Andy Murray.
He has won it all on the biggest stage, so the Australian Open semifinals against Roger Federer will be just another day at the office.
Despite all the noise about Federer’s career achievements, Murray has the 10-9 series advantage against him.
Not only that, but Murray comes in as the last player between the two to hoist a Grand Slam trophy. That's without counting his win over Fed at the Olympics this past summer.
Since they met in London, Federer is still Federer, yet Murray is an entirely different beast. He no longer has the pressure to win the big Slam hanging over his head.
Murray talked about how winning at the Olympics and the U.S. Open has changed him, via ESPN.com:
"I feel probably a little bit calmer maybe than usual, but I still have an understanding of how difficult it is to win these events. With the players that are still left in the tournament, it's going to be a very tough few days if I want to do that.
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Both players are at the top of their games heading into this semifinal, Murray especially so, as he has not dropped a set all tournament. He has had a relatively easy draw—facing only one seeded player in five matches—and has disposed of them handily.
Federer has noted the changes Murray has made to his game recently (per tennis.com):
"You have to know also when to back off. He's very clever at all these things. He knows how it works. But I think it's especially on the return that you see the biggest significant change in his game overall if you look back now.
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Federer will be exposed to that new return game soon enough. While Federer has regained his serve in this tournament, it doesn’t always stick from match to match. Murray will have his return game in play, and if Federer slips, the Scot will surely take advantage.
The crème always seems to rise to the top in these men's semis. Federer and Murray will duke it out in their first semifinal battle, with the latter continuing his superb run into the final.
Mike Shiekman is a Breaking News Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
