• Australian Open semi-final

Murray fights back to beat Cilic

Andy Murray dug deep to see off the challenge of Marin Cilic to reach the Australian Open final © Getty Images

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Day 11 in pictures

Andy Murray fought back from a set down to beat Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 to reach the final of the Australian Open.

Cilic played some sensational tennis in the opening set, time and again hitting the lines with power as Murray had no answer. The Croat remained on top at the start of the second set, but the match turned on one point in the fifth game. Murray worked a break point by hammering a short serve but Cilic received a lucky net cord to seemingly put the Scot out of the point.

Murray, though, chased down the ball but was duly lobbed by Cilic. The 22-year-old refused to yield and sprinted back before hitting a stunning pass on the run. Murray roared, the crowd rose to their feet and Cilic shook his head in disbelief. The British No.1 held his next service game to love and for the first time in the match Cilic started to miss, while Murray's groundstrokes suddenly had real weight behind them.

Murray sealed the second set with a quite sumptuous half-volley drop-shot, a point that sent out a message to his rival that he can operate from the net as well as the baseline.

Cilic had his service broken early in the third set, but the Croat showed some fight to break back almost immediately. The exertions of earlier five-set battles seemed to sap the strength from Cilic as the third set wore on: the footwork was not as sharp and the legs looked a little leaden. Murray clearly sensed this as he kept Cilic moving round the court, draining his resources and he closed out the third set with relative ease.

The world No. 14 held his serve at the start of the fourth set, but that was as good as it got for Cilic. Murray broke serve in game three and repeated the trick two games later. Cilic had nothing more to offer and Murray proved his superiority in the final game by playing an outrageous running forehand winner that went round the net rather than over it.

Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lie in wait for Murray and on the form he showed in sets three and four, he has a chance of claiming his first Grand Slam crown.

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