Murray brushes off talk of settling scores against Cilic
ANDY MURRAY insists revenge will not be on his mind this morning when he bids to take another step towards ending Britain’s 74-year wait for a Grand Slam champion.
Murray faces big-serving Marin Cilic, a rising star and conqueror of seeds Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Roddick who is preparing for his first major semi-final.
Cilic, 21, enjoyed a resounding straight-sets victory over Murray in their most recent meeting, at last year’s US Open, when the Scot, 22, was hampered by a wrist injury.
The Croatian also beat Murray in the junior French Open in 2005, when they were aged 16 and 18 respectively, but the British No1 is not looking to settle any scores.
“I was obviously disappointed about what happened at the US Open,” said fifth seed Murray. “I was feeling good going into it. It wasn’t the way I would have liked to have lost. Everyone talks about that a lot, about revenge. But you just go out there and every day’s a different day in tennis.
“I think I can win the match regardless of what happened at the US Open. If I play well, focus hard and concentrate, there’s no reason why I can’t beat him again.”
Murray, who has won their other three senior contests and is ranked 10 places above world No14 Cilic, is not unduly concerned by that defeat at Flushing Meadows.
“You can read into it as much as you like. I know what the circumstances were,” he said. “Obviously I didn’t have my best day. I played him quite a few times on the tour and had good results, except there.”
In Murray’s favour is his serene procession to the last four, in which he has not dropped a set and been on court for a fraction over 10 hours. Cilic has had a far tougher tournament, having to battle through three five-set matches and playing for a total of 18 hours.
“I feel fresh,” Murray said. “I feel good physically. That is not going be an issue for me. I don’t know how he’s feeling.”