Spain's Rafael Nadal, left, shakes hands after defeating Britain's Andy Murray in the men's semifinal match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon on Friday. AP
LONDON—Defending champion Rafael Nadal reached his fifth Wimbledon final on Friday with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over an outclassed Andy Murray, leaving British hopes of a first champion since 1936 in tatters.
Top seed Nadal, the winner also in 2008, will take on Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final, the match given an extra edge by the Serb guaranteed to depose the Spaniard from the world number one spot.
Second seeded Australian Open champion Djokovic, beaten only once in his last 50 matches, reached his first Wimbledon final with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-7 (9/11), 6-3 win over French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
For Murray, it was a third successive semi-final loss at the All England Club.
The final statistics summed up Murray’s misery with Nadal commiting just seven unforced errors – four of those in the first set — to the Scot’s 39.
“It’s a dream to be back in the final. I feel sorry for Andy, he deserved to be in the final. It’s tough for him to lose this match today, but I wish him all the best for the rest of the year,” said Nadal.
“I think I played very well. To win against Andy I had to play my best tennis and today I played my best tennis.”
Murray admitted the match had got away from him after the first set.
“I’ve beaten him at the US Open and the Australian Open and I played a little bit more patient. Today, I maybe got the balance a little bit wrong,” he said.
“You need to try and find a way. Each time you play against one of the best players you need to play slightly differently each time because they’re going to change their game against you. You have to make adjustments.”
Murray enjoyed a storming start, forcing 10-time Grand Slam title winner Nadal onto the back foot before his challenge quickly imploded.
Murray gave his fans a scare after just three games when he called for the trainer after suffering an early twinge in the right hip strain he suffered in his fourth round win over Feliciano Lopez.
But he was untroubled throughout the rest of the set where he easily looked the more assured of the two rivals despite carrying a 4-11 win-loss record against the great Spaniard into the semi-final.
Serve dominated with Murray firing a 135mph ace to help him to a 6-5 lead before taking the opener in the 12th game.
But then Murray’s challenge unravelled when he missed a simple forehand at 2-1, 30-15 in the second set which would have given him the chance to break for a 3-1 lead.
“He missed that shot and I think that was the turning point in the match,” admitted Nadal.
The top seed seized his chance, carving out his first break point of the match in the fifth game when Murray served up a double fault which he converted into a 3-2 lead when the Scot unleashed a wild smash.
Nadal broke again to lead 5-2 and the match was level at a set apiece when a lazy Murray backhand sailed wide with Nadal having reeled off five games in succession.
That soon became seven on the trot as Nadal claimed another break and a hold to lead 2-1 in the third set.
Murray’s defences were breached once more in the seventh game as Nadal went 5-2 ahead and the set was the Spaniard’s when the British fourth seed netted a forehand.
Nadal was a break to the good to lead 2-0 in the fourth set and saved two break points in the fourth game for 3-1.
Murray saved a match point at 3-5 with his 13th ace, and another in the next but Nadal wrapped up the tie with another killer forehand.