Tennis:Rafael Nadal crushed Andy Murray's Wimbledon dream for the second time in three years on Friday to reach his fourth Wimbledon final. The Spanish world number one seized on the few opportunities Murray offered up in a compelling contest to win 6-4 7-6 6-4 and go through to face Czech Tomas Berdych in Sunday's showpiece.
Britain's wait for a first men's champion at the All England Club since Fred Perry's 1936 title will go on for another year although little blame could be attached to Murray who matched the 2008 champion blow for blow.
Only when Nadal broke back to level the third set at 4-4 did fourth seed Murray's resolve finally crack and two games later he blazed a volley over the baseline to send Nadal flat on his back in celebration.
"It was a very, very good match for me," the 24-year-old Nadal, who was unable to defend his title last year because of injury, said on court after consoling his crestfallen opponent.
"To beat him you have to play your best tennis because he is one of the toughest opponents in the world."
Two years ago in the quarter-finals Murray was overwhelmed by Nadal on the same rectangle of turf but his performances here this time, together with a few dropped sets for Nadal, had hopes of a home champion soaring.
There was nothing between the players in the first set. Murray was aggressive, often striking the first blow in the baseline rallies but Nadal flung back everything with his trademark fizzing topspin.
Murray cracked down two aces in the ninth game but a double fault and then a scintillating forehand return from Nadal suddenly had the Scot in trouble.
Nadal grabbed his chance to achieve the set's only break of serve when Murray sent a lame forehand wide which had the fourth seed beating his fist into his arm in frustration.
Murray dropped just two points on his serve and was the better player in a riveting second set but again he was left to rue a couple of crucial moments.
Nadal was 15-40 down on serve in the eighth game but Murray was distracted by a mobile phone ring to net a forehand then Nadal fended off the second break point with a dipping forehand angled across the tramlines.
The tension was suffocating in the tiebreak and it seemed to have got to Nadal when he double-faulted at 5-5 to give Murray a point to level the match.
Once more the Spaniard's nerve was armour-plated, as he produced a stunning drop volley to level at 6-6. He then got lucky when a backhand pass flicked off the net and jumped over Murray's racket frame.
Nadal clinched the set with a forehand winner and Murray bounced his racket angrily into the turf.
There still seemed hope when Murray started brightly in the third set, breaking Nadal to love to the delight of the partisan crowd but their joy did not last long as Nadal broke back in the eighth game and broke again to seal victory.
Berdych became the first Czech to reach the men's final at Wimbledon since Ivan Lendl in 1987 after powering to a straight sets victory (6-3 7-6 6-3) over Novak Djokovic this afternoon.
The 12th seed reached his first grand slam final with a murderous display of hitting from the back of the court against the third seed, who received a code violation for racket abuse after a show of frustration when losing the second set.
Berdych took the opener in 33 minutes with a single break and served for the second at 6-5, but Djokovic revived his chances with a break of his own to take it to a tiebreak.
Djokovic's hopes of a comeback were effectively dashed when he double-faulted to lose the tiebreak 11-9 after Berdych had let slip a 6-2 lead.
"The feeling is amazing, to reach another victory over another great player, Novak Djokovic, in straight sets, it's amazing," the giant Czech, who beat Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, said afterwards.
"I think every young kid who first hits the ball, this is the dream to be in the final of any grand slam. And if you can do it at Wimbledon it's amazing. It's definitely the biggest tournament for me. It couldn't be better."