• US Open

Rusedski: Murray has huge US Open final advantage

Andy Murray coped with harsh weather conditions to beat Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Confident Murray fired up for US Open final
  
• News: Murray masters the wind to topple Berdych
  
• Profile: Andy Murray

Greg Rusedski says Andy Murray will be walking into his best chance of winning a maiden grand slam title at the US Open, as adverse weather conspires to work in the British No. 1's favour.

Murray managed to book his place in the final at Flushing Meadows with a four-set win over Tomas Berdych, in a match that saw winds reach 100kph. Such was the power of the gusts that a chair was blown onto court mid-point, and a hurricane warning later led to the suspension of the second semi-final between Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer.

That match - currently seven games old - must now be completed on Sunday, with the final switched to Monday. Rusedski, himself a US Open finalist in 1997, insists the extra rest time afforded to Murray puts him in pole position for victory.

"It's a huge advantage - absolutely big time - that Murray has already finished his match," Rusedski told Sky Sports.

"He's through and will have a day off, while Ferrer-Djokovic is going to be a long match, no matter who wins it. Murray's saying 'David Ferrer, keep going, keep doing what you're doing and go as long as you want!'

"So it's advantage Murray because he can already get his preparation ready whereas the other two still have a lot more time on the court. That could play a big, big part in deciding who is going to win this tournament and right now it looks as though Andy Murray has his best chance ever to win a major."

Rusedski's confidence is matched by Murray's coach Ivan Lendl, whose grand slam fate could be echoed by the Scot on Monday. Like Murray, Lendl lost his first four slam finals, but he is convinced his charge will repeat history by winning his fifth.

"Andy is ready to go and win," Lendl said. "The lesson he learned from the Wimbledon final was a tough one but he learned it well and put it to good use in the Olympic final.

"Andy and I are very similar in that we lost four slams in a row. If you look at his losses he has been beaten by Roger Federer three times and Novak Djokovic.

"After his Wimbledon defeat [to Federer] I said to him, 'You should be proud of yourself for the way you handled the pressure and the way you played'. There was a big difference between this loss and the one he had to Djokovic in Australia the previous year.

"You learn from certain losses and become depressed from other ones. But when you put it all out there and go hard, you can be proud of yourself. And you can learn from it, and that is really important. Andy is now in his prime."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.