Murray cheered by parade of champions
Getting into the semi-finals of a grand slam for the first time is an enviable achievement and yet Andy Murray will not be satisfied until he has etched his name into the U.S. Open annals.
Ex-dustman wins to sing in EurovisionMurray lies just two tantalising matches away from becoming the first British man in 72 years to win the New York crown and was inspired to do well after watching the parade of champions on the opening day of this year's tournament.
"I'm excited to be in the semi-finals but the tournament is still going," the 21-year-old Scot said on Wednesday after squeezing past in-form Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6 7-6 4-6 7-5.
"I don't want to lose in the semi-finals. When I watched the opening of the tournament on the first night session and you see all the winners of the U.S. Open, you realise that winning is what really, really counts.
"That's what I'm going to try and do. I understand getting to the semis is a great achievement but I want to go a little bit further."
Murray became only the third British man to reach the last four since tennis turned professional 40 years ago.
Greg Rusedski was runner-up in 1997 while Tim Henman stalled in the semis four years ago.
But unlike his two predecessors who favoured a serve-and-volley strategy ideally suited to grass, Murray's baseline game is tailored for the hardcourt surface.
Despite tripping up in the third set, Murray proved he had the weapons to do well here by outslugging 17th seed Del Potro in an absorbing four-hour battle on Wednesday.
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