He's there !!!

Oh Rafa ... you special boy. On Men's semi-finals day last year you were messing about on your jet-ski, but this year you were walking out with Andy Murray to face off for a place in your beloved Wimbledon final.

And you were superb. It was a high quality match where Murray remembered how to serve again but you had enough on return for it not to hurt you - too much. As always, tennis matches are won and lost on a few points and in the first set you got your first break point which you took to lead 5-4 with you coming out next to serve. And you converted ... first set cushion at 6-4.

It was very evenly fought in the second with Rafa saving break points and it lead to the eventual tie-breaker. Yikes ... I hate them. Hate them. It was again evenly contested but Murray ended up with a set point as Rafa double faulted, but his aggressive play meant that he couldn't put it away. Rafa got his own set point at 7-6 which he duly converted ... 2 sets up.

At the start of the third, Rafa lost serve as Murray converted the only one of his three break points to take the early lead. It was a lapse of concentration from Rafa which in some ways you can't blame him for due to the intensity of the first two sets, but we just knew at that at some point in the set he would get it back. And he did. He converted the second of this then 3 break points to level the set at 4-4. With the momentum his way, Rafa served to lead at 5-4 and then broke Murray with the 3rd of his 4 break points to take the match, 6-4 in the third.

Fabulous Rafa. He had a lovely exchange with Murray at the net where he held him and commiserated and held back a bit when they walked off court so that he and the crowd could applaud Murray off. What a gent.

Rafa fell to his back on victory which is his usual salute when he wins the tournament, I can't ever remember a time when he's done this before in a semi. It must have meant that much. I can scarcely believe the turnround of events in a single year and how Rafa has put his career and season right back on track only really from April this year. He is a credit to the sport and a fine, fine champion. He faces Tomas Berdych tomorrow who was the 3-0 victor over Novak in the other semi-final. I hope with my whole heart that Rafa can turn around the sad events from last year and make the defence of his treasured Wimbledon title.

Come on Rafa ... you can do it, you can DO it !!!