Australian Open Betting / Maxliu / 28 January 2010 / 1

Brit reaches second Grand Slam final after coming from a set down to destroy Marin Cilic in Melbourne. Max Liu reports.

Andy Murray is trading at [2.14] to win the Australian Open after he reached the final with a four set victory over Marin Cilic.

Murray was backed at a high of [2.20] to win his semi-final after losing the first set 3-6. Cilic took control of the game at the end of the first set and beginning of the second when Murray went two games without winning a point.

He looked like he was in trouble, with the Croatian increasingly aggressive as Murray languished on the baseline. However, the Scot summoned his determination and composure and began to pick apart his opponent's game.

He took the second set 6-4 and never looked back, winning the third by the same margin. In the final set, with Cilic rattled, Murray won two breaks of serve, playing scintilating ground strokes, chasing down lost causes and surprising his opponent from astonishing angles.

There was jubilation amongst Murray's supporters as he served out the final set 6-2 for a place in the final.

His opponent on Sunday will be the winner of Friday's semi-final between Roger Federer and Jo Wilfried Tsonga . Federer is rated a [1.2] chance to meet Murray with Tsonga trading at [5.8].

Despite the understandable excitement at Murray's progress, the player and his supporters will not be getting too carried away. Nobody is under-estimating Federer - especially not Betfair's Australian Open winner market which has the world number one as [2.0] favourite despite the fact that he still has to beat Tsonga in the semi-final. It was, of course, Federer who beat Murray in his only other Grand Slam final - at the US Open in 2008.

Having lost to Juan Martin Del Potro at Flushing Meadow in September, Federer will be in no mood to lose a consecutive Grand Slam final. He will be relishing the opportunity to regain the Australian Open title after finishing runner up to Rafael Nadal last year.

However, Murray has a good record against Federer on hard courts and backers will point to his undeniable improvement over the last 18 months as evidence that he can win his first Grand Slam on Sunday.

Meanwhile, it may be early days but Murray's odds have been slashed to [2.74] in Betfair's Sports Personality of the Year 2010 market.

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1. chi | 28 January 2010

   lucky draw, nadal wasnt on form,12seed had too many games,ferdera will have 1 day less rest, i think murry is going to win it.

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