It was 6-2, 2-0 to Murray but Federer had 30-40 to break back and sat on a backhand pass that he let rip with every ounce of whip, spin and speed that his single hander could muster. On so many occasions, that backhand has flown in, the opponent's bubble has been pricked and Federer finds his way back into a game that his opponent has dominated. Not today. Today Andy Murray stuck out his racquet, somehow deadballed it off the middle of his racquet and the ball flopped on the other side leaving Federer with no chance.

No chance was exactly what Federer had today as Andy Murray played the match of his life to out gun and out play arguably the greatest player in tennis history to claim a most deserved and satisfying Olympic Gold. The Brit took the final in straight sets 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 finishing it all in perfect style with an ace in front of a vociferous home crowd that paid full tribute to Murray's fabulous display. Murray broke the final wide open with a 9 game streak through the first and second sets before breaking early in the third to hammer the final nail in the Federer coffin as he sailed home in style.  For Federer it was somehow not to be as the one item missing from his overcrowded trophy cabinet continues to remain desperately out of reach.

It was a day for semi-finals at the Australian Open on Thursday, with three individuals and four teams booking places for themselves in the final stage of their respective events. The highlights of the day were undoubtedly the singles events where Serena Williams and Justine Henin quelled the Chinese invasion of Melbourne in contrasting fashion, to set up a delightful final in prospect when the two fan favourites collide on Saturday. Later in the day it was the turn of the Scotland's Andy Murray to earn himself a second ever shot at Grand Slam glory by beating exhausted Croatian giant Marin Cilic in four sets.

After being put through an emotional roller-coaster yesterday where all four singles winners mounted excellent comeback victories, it was always going to be difficult for Day 11 to match up. Serena Williams and Li Na had displayed tremendous hunger by coming back from near impossible situations to win their respective quarter-final matches, and set up an intriguing battle to kick-off the action on Rod Laver Arena.

Seventy three years after Fred Perry lifted the US Open trophy, the 2009 Open was touted to be the best shot for the next Grand Slam title to be won by a Brit. But evidently a certain Mr. Cilic was not reading the script as the Croat defeated the heir apparent, Andy Murray in the 4th round of the US Open on Monday in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. It was a comprehensive victory by the 16th seeded Marin Cilic and undoubtedly the biggest win of his career. The Croat played really well but Murray's game left something to be desired as he committed way too many errors. Meanwhile, Kim Clijsters followed the script perfectly as her comeback continued with a straight sets victory over China's Li Na, 6-2, 6-4. Juan Martin Del

The night session was one chock full of emotion, of nerves and anger from Vera Zvonareva, of relief and happiness for Flavia Pennetta, of sheer joy and nostalgia for Taylor Dent and of determination & focus for Andy Murray. The 2nd seed saw off the challenge of big serving comeback man Taylor Dent with aplomb to keep his dreams of a first slam alive and kicking. Joining him in the 4th round were potential quarterfinal opponent Juan Martin Del Potro and the flamboyant Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. In the women's

For tennis fans, the US Open is quite often the most exciting Grand Slam of the year. Simply because by the time the last Grand Slam of the year comes around, we've already been through the agony and the ecstacy of the three previous slams and so we expect that extra push from our favourite tennis players to end the year on a high and give us something to talk about till January when the Australian Open comes around. It's a culmination of a season of expectations, and the players feeling it the most will quite naturally be the ones at the top of the tennis food chain - the top seeds. So as we prepare ourselves for the action to begin in Flushing Meadows, let's put things in perspective and take a look at how

My apologies for the cheeky headline, but it was hard not to support Andy Roddick as he took on not only a future great in Andy Murray, but an entire nation at Wimbledon on Friday. After Roger Federer had comfortably booked his ticket for Sunday's final with a clinical dissection of German Tommy Haas, all eyes (and throats) turned to the much awaited clash between the Andys - Murray and Roddick with the whole of Great Britain in the young Scots corner.

Sadly for a nation in search of a champion for 73 years, the wait would go one year longer as Roddick pulled off a marvelous 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) win. The one fact of solace certainly is that unlike with Hen-mania, where everyone hoped that Tim can somehow pull out a

It was a day of the big guns at SW19 as the top four seeds all made their way into the semi finals. The Americans, the Williams sisters and the Russians, Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva are the last four women standing, and with their displays through the tournament it promises to be a rousing finale to the Ladies' Singles event. While a ‘shaky' Dinara Safina squares up against Venus Williams, who continues to bulldoze her way past opponents without any serious challenge, in the other semi final Serena Williams takes on the in-form Elena Dementieva.

World no.1 Dinara Safina struggled to get past her hard hitting German opponent Sabine Lisciki and was the only semi-finalist who was stretched in her match, comi