Nadal certain Murray will win slam

Rafael Nadal ended Andy Murray’s Wimbledon dream for another year and then insisted Britain’s grand slam agony will soon be over.

The 23-year-old Scot again went close to ending Fred Perry’s 75-year reign as the country’s last male grand slam singles champion, only to fall in the semi-finals at the All England Club for a second consecutive year.

Twelve months ago it was Andy Roddick who prevented Murray from reaching his first Wimbledon final, and yesterday Nadal followed suit with a 6-4 7-6 (8/6) 6-4 win that in truth looked on the cards from the moment he won the opening set.

Murray has also reached two major finals, losing to Roger Federer at the US Open in 2008 and the Australian Open this January, and his defeat will add to the doubters who believe he is destined to be another British nearly man.

Nadal, though, thinks every near miss is bringing him closer to the title he so desperately craves.

The world number one, who will play Tomas Berdych in the final tomorrow, said of Murray: “I know it was an important match for him because he was playing at home, and it was a chance for him to win probably the most important title for him at home in Wimbledon.

“I felt sorry for him because he’s a very nice person. I am sure he’s going to win a grand slam very soon, because when you play in a final at the US Open, a final in Australia, the semi-finals here this year and last year, you are there all the time.

“So one day you win. I am sure he’s going to win. He deserves to win.”

The Spaniard was also full of praise for the 23-year-old’s game, hailing yesterday’s victory as one of his best.

“When I play against him I always see the match as very, very difficult, because he makes the very difficult things very easy,” said Nadal.

“He has a good serve and his movement is unbelievable from the baseline. He looks like he always knows the way that you’re going to play. For that reason I think it’s one of the biggest victories in my career.”

The crucial moments of the match came in the second-set tie-break, when a double fault from Nadal gave Murray set point on his own serve – only for the Spaniard to play some of his best tennis and save it before converting his first opportunity.

That was not the only chance the British number one had and he was left with a sense of what might have been.

“I had chances in all of the sets,” said the fourth seed. “I don’t feel like I played terrible. I’ve had some good wins against Rafa where I played great tennis. But he played great, and that was the difference. There’s a great player in the final.”

Murray has often named Nadal as his favourite player of the current field, but the Spaniard insists the world number four belongs in the same bracket.

“He doesn’t need to admire a lot of things of mine because he’s too good to admire me,” added Nadal.