By Chris Oddo | Friday July 8, 2016

 

Andy Murray knocked off Tomas Berdych for the fifth consecutive time to take his place alongside Milos Raonic in Sunday's Wimbledon final.

Photo Source: CameraSport

Wimbledon, England--With Novak Djokovic out of the draw Andy Murray has become the consensus favorite at the All England Club. After an inspired victory on Friday afternoon at SW19 he’ll be the favorite in the final as well.

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Murray claimed a routine 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Tomas Berdych in today’s second men’s singles semifinal to book his spot in Sunday’s Wimbledon final alongside first-time Grand Slam finalist Milos Raonic.

To get it done, Murray struck early and often against 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Berdych; to make matters worse, the Czech never really hit his stride as he tossed in 30 unforced errors and had his serve broken five times in 13 service games over the course of the one hour and 58-minute contest.

“For him, he just deserves to win today,” a disappointed Berdych said after the match.

The 29-year-old Scot took control in the opening set after a trade of breaks by converting a break point for 5-3 when Berdych sailed a forehand well wide. Murray would serve the set out with an ace out wide, one of seven on the afternoon for the No.2 seed.

As is so often the case, Murray set the tone of the contest with his return game. He pressured the burly Czech from start to finish, winning 17 of 27 second-serve points and breaking five times on ten opportunities.

In the second set a flat-lining Berdych had his best chances to gain a foothold in the match, but he squandered two break points with Murray serving at 2-3.

That near miss led to a converted opportunity for Murray, who broke for 4-3 when Berdych netted an ill-advised dropper, then broke again with a gorgeous down-the-line forehand pass to claim the two sets to love lead.

“I think there was couple of opportunities,” Berdych said of his missed chances. “Especially in those moments, I was a bit short on that, was not able to execute them.”

As the shadows encroached on Centre Court’s fabled grassy carpet, the window of opportunity simultaneously slammed shut on Berdych. He did not see another break opportunity, and went meekly in the third. Murray broke for 3-1 in the final set after Berdych sprayed another forehand wide, and the Scot would soon close out his fifth consecutive victory over the Czech and his 52nd career victory at Wimbledon, which sees him vault past Bjorn Borg and into seventh on the all-time Wimbledon win list.

The contest was more of a yawner than a thriller, but either way Murray was simply happy to get the win.

"The older you get you never know how many chances you are going to get to play in Grand Slam finals,” Murray told the BBC after the match.

Murray will face Raonic for the fourth time this year, and will look to extend his current winning streak over the Canadian to six matches. He leads the pair’s lifetime head-to-head, 6-3.