NEW YORK - SIXTH-SEEDED Briton Andy Murray reached his first grand slam final by upsetting world number one Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-6 4-6 6-4 at the US Open on Sunday.

The shrewd Scot outplayed the Spanish left-hander in a semi-final contest that began on Saturday and ended more than 24 hours later after being interrupted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna.

Leading by two sets but trailing 2-3 in the third overnight, Murray lost the third set before breaking the Spaniard in the 10th game of the fourth, wrapping up the biggest victory of his career with a backhand winner.

'Very relieved,' an emotional Murray said in a courtside interview in the Arthur Ashe Stadium. 'To come back after yesterday when I was two sets up was obviously tough to sleep on but I am so glad I came through in the end.

'The atmosphere in here was unbelievable today. They (the crowd) only got a set and a half worth of tennis but I thought they were unbelievable. That really helped me through in the end.'

Murray, who will attempt to become the first British male to win a grand slam title since Fred Perry at the 1936 US Open, has a 2-1 winning record against world number two Federer.

Greatest ever
'He's probably the greatest player ever so to get the chance to play against him in a slam final is an honour,' the Scot said. 'But I have played well against him in the past so hopefully I can do the same again tomorrow.'

Nadal, who broke Murray at the start of the third set before the match spilled over into a second day, survived one anxious moment in the 10th game before holding serve to win the third set.

After hitting a forehand long, he saved one break point with an ace before winning the next two points with crunching forehands to peg back Murray's lead.

Continually pressurised by Murray's clever variations from the baseline, Nadal was forced to save seven break points in a marathon second game in the fourth set before holding serve.

Murray, understandably demoralised after losing a 15-minute game totalling 22 points, was then broken in the third after making four successive unforced errors. The last of them, a wild forehand that sailed wide, gave Nadal a 2-1 lead.

However the Briton broke back in the sixth, when the Spaniard hit a forehand wide, to level at 3-3 and constructed a sequence of near-perfect rallies in the 10th to again break and secure victory in three hours 30 minutes. -- REUTERS

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