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Murray reaches semis at Australian Open

Wed 25th, January 2012

Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Andy Murray is back in the Australian Open semifinals after beating Kei Nishikori in straight sets Wednesday.

The fourth-seeded Murray needed just 29 minutes to win the third set at Rod Laver Arena and finish off his 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Nishikori.

He moved on to face the winner of Wednesday's other quarterfinal match between world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and fifth-seeded David Ferrer.

Djokovic beat Murray in the final last year, and Roger Federer topped him in the championship match in 2010.

So Murray, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, is still looking to break through for his first major victory. He said he's not feeling more relaxed on the court based on his recent history, just more experienced.

"Just more used to being in this position because of the experience," said Murray.

Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in almost 17 years, provided little more than a speed bump Wednesday although he showed a little fight in one of the match's most entertaining points.

Down 30-40 in the game and 1-5 in the third set, Nishikori scrambled to win a long rally with Murray, who was forced to chase down a ball in the backcourt that he could only send harmlessly to the net.

Nishikori was there for the easy volley, forcing deuce, but Murray followed with a service winner and captured the match on the next point.

"There was quite a few good rallies. I mean, he came up with some good shots," said Murray. "A lot of the long points, the fun rallies he was winning, he came up with some great shots."

The 24-year-old Scotsman hit 36 winners in the match and won nearly 80 percent of his first serve points, while Nishikori had 39 unforced errors.

Nishikori was also the first Japanese man in 80 years to advance to the Aussie Open quarterfinals. Murray broke his first service game of the match, which included a 42-shot point that Murray won.

"After a couple games, I was OK," said Nishikori. "He played really well today."

Wednesday's buzz on the men's side was about the two quarterfinals matches, but also about Thursday's upcoming semifinal between second-seeded Rafael Nadal and the third-seeded Federer.