Serbia's Novak Djokovic beat flamboyant Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach his first Wimbledon final and guarantee top spot in next week's rankings and it briefly looked as though Nadal's day would get even worse when he was outclassed in the first set by home favourite Murray.
The defending champion's response was unsurprising, but staggering nonetheless, as he unleashed a furious onslaught to suck the life out of the fourth seed and roar to a magnificent 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-4 semi-final victory on Centre Court.

Murray, who lost to Nadal at the same stage last year and Andy Roddick the year before, will surely lie awake replaying the easy forehand he fired agonisingly long when up 2-1 and 15-30 on Nadal's serve in the second set.