Murray: I'll bounce back with a slam

Andy Murray defiantly insisted his grand slam prospects are better than ever after Andy Roddick ended his Wimbledon run.

The British number one was a hot favourite to beat his American rival and go on to face Roger Federer in the final, but Roddick produced one of the best performances of his life to triumph 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/5) in the semi-finals.

Murray was playing in his first Wimbledon semi-final and hoping to reach his second grand slam final, after losing to Federer at the US Open last autumn, and he put a brave face on the defeat - making this summer's US Open his next target for glory.

The 22-year-old said: "The way that I played this year it was very, very close to getting to the final.

"If I give myself those sort of opportunities and keep playing well, and my consistency in the grand slams the last year or so has been much, much better - a final, a semi and a quarter - I'm going to give myself opportunities to do it.

"I believe I can win a grand slam, whether it's Wimbledon or US Open or Australia or whatever, I'm going to give myself chances.

"I'll come back next year and try to do better."

Murray, who had beaten Roddick in six of their eight previous meetings, was happy with his performance and praised his opponent for a brilliant display.

The sixth seed's first-serve percentage was 75% - compared to only 52% for Murray - while the Scot could only take advantage of two of his seven break points in the three-hour match.

"I thought I played well," said Murray.

"If you look at the stats, I hit more winners, less unforced errors, more aces.

"I'm sure the points that we won were very, very similar. It just came down to a few points here or there on his serve.

"And he served really, really well. Hitting at that pace, at such a high percentage, sometimes there's not a whole lot you can do with that.

"The last few slams that I've lost, I've come up against some guys that have played great, great tennis.

"Mentally, for me, I've got much better at it, understanding that guys can do that against you. That's happened to me a few times now in slams.

"I need to keep making sure I bring my best game to the court in every match."

Murray has a break of five weeks until his next tournament and he insisted he will have no problem getting over today's loss.

"I'll move on very, very quickly and go and work on my game and improve and come back stronger," he said.

"That's a pathetic attitude to have, if you lose one match and you go away and let it ruin your year.

"I've had a very good year so far. I'm very close to the top of the game. The US Open I've always said is my best surface, my best chance to win a slam, and I'll give it my best shot there."

Venus is from another planet

On one side the power and the glory. On the other utter humiliation.

Rarely can a Wimbledon semi-final have illustrated those two contrasting emotions so starkly as Venus Williams' 6-1 6-0 demolition of Russia's Dinara Safina.

It lasted 51 minutes, the second shortest women's semi-final in the open era.

And when the horror show was over for the 23-year-old Russian and Venus was through to her eighth Wimbledon singles final, the fourth against sister Serena, there was one obvious, if bewildering, question hanging in the air over SW19.

How can the world number one be so devastatingly eclipsed in a grand slam semi-final by the number three seed?

Two reasons.

First, Venus has taken power and precision to a new level this Wimbledon, aided by the hot weather, the fast courts and a desire to lift the Venus Rosewater dish for the sixth time.

Second, the world rankings matter not a jot. They reward quantity over quality which allows Safina to trawl the world amassing a sackful of ranking points while the Williamses focus on grand slams.

At the last count they have 17 of those to their name with another to come on Sunday, while Safina has none, having lost in three finals.

Not that Venus was about to pile any more humiliation on the Russian.

"I respect Dinara Safina. I think women's tennis is fantastic," was all Venus would say to questions about the ranking system.

"The score showed my level of play. I was dictating on every point and there was a lot of pressure on her. I am really pleased with my form playing against the number one. My experience on grass helped me a lot.

"Dinara tried 100 per cent until the match was over. I didn't take anything for granted. She just tried for too much."

Safina, meanwhile, pointed out that she had been in the final of the other two grand slams this year, the French and Australian Opens, and admitted that she struggled on grass.

Safina said of her opponent: "She's too good on grass. It's not my favourite surface and it is her favourite.

"It was disappointing but I have to accept it. Reaching the semi this year means maybe I can change my mentality on grass and come back with more expectations. She gave me a pretty good lesson but it would be different on clay."

Perhaps, but Williams would never have gone down so abjectly on any surface. This semi-final was over almost as soon as it began, Venus winning the first nine points.

Safina knew her only chance was to trade fire with fire but her groundstrokes carried nowhere near the heat, nor accuracy, of her opponent while her serve was distinctly lukewarm by comparison.

One Williams ace in the third game clocked in at 124mph, the fastest serve so far in the women's tournament and one many of the men would have been delighted with.

The placement and spin were also superior which is why even Serena could struggle to live with her big sister if she takes her form this fortnight into Saturday's final.

Safina, by contrast, simply went into meltdown, not an unusual occurrence for members of the Safin family, and she won just eight points in the second set. Not so much a competitor as a spectator to Williams' superiority.

The final will be closer if only because as Venus pointed out: "We both play a similar game. We have the same teacher."

So how do they separate their relationship as sisters and as rivals?

"Well, it's real easy when you get a serve at about 127mph and it comes back as a winner," said Venus. "You soon realise you're playing against an awesome player and you really better get on your toes.

"I'm happy for her to be in the final and I don't necessarily want her to lose, but I want to win. I need to get my titles too and I'm the big sister."

Their head-to-head record is tied at 10-10 but in terms of Wimbledon, Venus is leading that particular tally by five titles to two.

The only thing for sure once more is that the power and the glory once more will be with the family Williams.

Quotes of the day - 03 July 2009

Serena Williams attacks the net during her semi-final match in the Ladies Doubles.

“Are you ready to get out of here (laughter)?” With just two days ago until the end of Wimbledon 2009, Serena Williams has clearly had enough of press conferences. “What would my advice be? I won't be giving them any advice because I'll be heading home tonight.” Andy, if you are looking for tips about how to contend with Roger Federer, beaten semi-finalist Tommy Haas is probably not the best man to go to. “Trying to achieve the fifth straight Wimbledon, equaling Borg's record. For some reason that meant the world to me. I was like in a bubble for two weeks, just trying to achieve it.” We are glad Roger Federer was able to burst that bubble in time to come back and try and win a sixth Wimbledon title. “I think it's been very good. I did better than I ever had before. I had some very good matches. And, you know, I thought I played good tennis.” Andy Murray gives a summary of his Wimbledon 2009 “I believe I can win a Grand Slam, whether it's Wimbledon or US Open or Australia or whatever, I'm going to give myself chances.” And a dose of positivity thrown in for good measure too. See you next year Andy Murray. “She didn't really know much about tennis, so she thought I was playing real great (laughter). She thought I looked cute in the shorts.” Andy Roddick gives an insight into wife Brooklyn Decker's world of tennis. “I've developed a little bit of rapport with the fans. Maybe you guys helping me by asking me a bunch of goofy questions and me giving a bunch of goofy answers.” Why does Rick Astley come to mind?

Roddick blasts past Murray

Andy Roddick is caught in mid-air during his semi-final as he returns the ball to Andy Murray

Three years after his last appearance in a Grand Slam final, Andy Roddick broke the hearts of the Centre Court crowd by defeating the home favourite Andy Murray in a tremendous display of intelligent tennis. Murray, not at his best, could not find a way to break down Roddick’s serve, and the American won through to the third Wimbledon final of his career 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) in three hours and seven minutes. He will face the five-times champion Roger Federer, to whom he lost the finals of 2004 and 2005. Roddick laid down his marker in the first set. He played with great discipline, attacking only at the right moments. Displaying an almost contradictory brand of patient aggression, he permitted Murray very little to work with. Of course the number six seed’s game was also peppered with the regulation number of aces, and serves in the neighbourhood of 140mph. At 5-4 with the set on serve, he pounced with an attacking rally to bring up 30-all, and then a beautifully judged dropshot. It was not only the first break point of the match, but set point to boot. No wonder his new coach Larry Stefanki showed his delight with enthusiastic applause. A long rally followed, with Roddick forcing the error from Murray. The set belonged to the American, and never mind that he had produced barely half as many outright winners as Murray. Both men left the Centre Court for that most useful of tennis pauses, the comfort break. But not for nothing did Murray come into this match leading Roddick 6-2 in their career encounters, including all of the last three, along with their only previous Wimbledon meeting in 2006. He was bidding to become the first British man to make the final here since 1938, and if he was frustrated by the outcome of the opening set, then it showed at once when Roddick served at the start of the second. With the first point Murray produced a thunderous crosscourt shot. Next came a narrow angled running forehand as he sprinted to reach a Roddick dropshot, to take him to 0-30 for the first time on Roddick’s serve. Then it was a backhand down the line to leave Roddick stranded, and finally a forced error to break the American to love. At 4-3 Murray almost wobbled but would not permit Roddick to convert the threat, and screamed at himself to keep it going. He did. At the start of the third it seemed Murray would repeat that early break of the second. In no time he was at 0-40 on Roddick’s serve. But crucially Roddick saved all three, the third with a great diving backhand volley that Murray could not reach. Roddick, sweat dripping from his cap, pushed on hard in the next game, threatening to bring up break point without quite managing. At 2-1 Roddick capitalised on Murray’s weak second serve, and this game soon had the feel of one that was vital for the Scot to hold on to. But he could not, although Roddick required four break points before he could finally breach Murray’s defences for 3-1. Murray was livid with himself, and became further irritated in the next game when umpire Pascal Maria gave him a warning for an audible obscenity that no one else at courtside heard. Typically of someone already irritated by other matters, Murray debated the point too long with Maria, continuing the argument during the changeover. It felt very much as if Roddick was suddenly in control, and he upped the pace even more at 5-2, pushing to break so that he could start the fourth on his own serve. Murray managed to stop that – and then out of nowhere, as Roddick was serving for the set he tightened up. Two errors and a fabulous crosscourt pass gave the Scot three break points; another error did the job and Murray punched the air, shouting: “Yes!” The set went on to a tiebreak, but Murray alternated between outrageous winners and pressured mistakes. The two traded set points before Roddick forced the mistake from Murray that gave him the set. Murray, occasionally feeling his right knee, was clearly not serving as well as he had in previous rounds. He was hanging on, but there was no getting away from the fact that Roddick was playing exceptionally well. A break point for Murray at 4-3 went by. Come the tiebreak and Roddick’s brilliant serving allowed no way through. A Murray backhand floated wide to give Roddick two match points. A fabulous passing shot form Murray saved the first but he could not rescue the second. Roddick sank to his knees, as if unable to believe events, and then generously applauded the Centre Court crowd. Centre Court - Gentlemen's Singles - Semifinals Andy Roddick USA (6) 6 4 79 77 Andy Murray GBR (3) 4 6 67 65