Andy Murray took quite a while to figure out unpredictable Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov before solving the puzzle and moving into the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
The fifth-seeded Murray, last year’s losing Open finalist who is still chasing his first major title, won 7-5 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 to set up a semi-final date with either world No.1 Rafael Nadal or fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.
The Scottish star looked bemused at times during the first and third sets by Dolgopolov, who had dispatched seeds Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Robin Soderling in the previous two rounds.
Dolgopolov, 22, should have taken the first set to a tiebreak, only to blow a game point in the 12th game with a poorly directed smash which Murray rifled straight back past him for a winner.
A few minutes later, Murray claimed the game and the set.
The 23-year-old broke Dolgopolov’s serve early in the second set and again in the opening game of the third, at which point it looked as though he was en route to another straight-sets victory.
But the Ukrainian broke back in the sixth game and went on to dominate the tiebreak as Murray dropped his first set of the tournament.
Rather than dropping his head, Murray dominated the early stages of the fourth set, winning 16 of the first 17 points to bolt to a 4-0 lead.
Dolgopolov did manage to pull one of the breaks back but Murray held firm, winning the match in three hours and six minutes.
The most telling statistic was the 77 unforced errors committed by Dolgopolov compared to just 34 from Murray, although the Ukrainian did lead the winners’ count 57-33.
