British number one Andy Murray has plenty of fans out in Melbourne as he begins his Australian Open campaign underneath the roof on the Rod Laver Arena against Kevin Anderson
South African qualifier Anderson, who is 6ft 8in and ranked 147th in the world, proves no trouble for number five seed Murray who races to a 6-1 6-1 6-2 victory in 100 minutes
Murray's opponent in round two is Marc Gicquel. The Frenchman is broken in his opening two service games and finds himself one set down after 24 minutes
Gicquel puts up more of a fight in the second and third sets, managing a break in game six of the final set, but Murray regains his focus to wrap up a 6-1 6-4 6-3 win
Murray's third round opponent is another Frenchman, Florent Serra. He again starts quickly, winning the first three games, but Serra hits back with a couple of breaks of his own to level the first set at 5-5
The number five seed ups his game though to take the first set and drops only five more games as he eases into round four with a 7-5 6-1 6-4 victory
Big-serving John Isner is next up for the Scot but Murray more than matches the American at his own game in the opening set, conceding just two points in his opening five service games
Murray wins the first set after a tie-break and as his opponent's physical condition begins to deteriorate, he takes complete control of the match
Isner ends up with a warning for smashing his raccquet as his game falls apart. Following his 7-6 6-3 6-2 defeat, Isner admits that he could not cope with Murray's tactic of "dinking and dunking" the ball around the court
World number two Rafael Nadal is Murray's quarter-final opponent. The Spaniard has the upper hand, winning seven of their nine previous contests
Former British boxing world champion Ricky Hatton is courtside at the Rod Laver Arena to watch what turns out to be a pulsating match
Murray serves solidly throughout as he takes the first two sets, fighting back from 2-4 down in the second to win it on a tie-break
But any hopes of a Nadal fightback are cruelly ended when a right knee injury forces the Spaniard to retire, with Murray leading 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 3-0
The defending champion's withdrawal means 22-year-old Murray becomes the first Briton to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open since John Lloyd in 1977
The semi-final pits Murray against Marin Cilic, the man who beat him in last year's US Open. The Croatian starts the better of the two and becomes the first man to take a set off Murray
But the Scot finds inspiration in the second set with a tremendous forehand winner and as Murray's game improves, Cilic's falters as the effects of three five-set matches in the tournament catch up with him
Murray runs out a 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 winner in one minute over three hours and raises a smile while discussing his efforts with two-time Australian Open champion Jim Courier
Murray will play world number one Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who meet on Friday, in his second Grand Slam final which will be broadcast live on BBC TV, BBC Sport website and BBC Radio 5 live on Sunday
What are these?
E-mail this to a friend 
Bookmark with:
What are these?