MELBOURNE, Australia - Andy Murray had a struggle on his hands, constantly trying to find his rhythm against Alexandr Dolgopolov before advancing 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 to the Australian Open semifinals and a possible showdown with Rafael Nadal.
Dolgopolov had already beaten 2008 runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and French Open finalist Robin Soderling and has the kind of unorthodox game that can unsettle higher-ranked players.
Apart from the second set, when 2010 finalist Murray didn't lose a point on serve until he had triple set point, momentum swung frequently.
Fifth-ranked Murray will await the winner of Wednesday's later all-Spanish quarterfinal between Nadal and No. 7 David Ferrer. Murray was the only man to beat Nadal in a major last year - here in the quarterfinals. Nadal went on to win the French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles and is aiming to be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four majors at once.
U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters is the growing favorite in the women's draw. She advanced to a semifinal against No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, whom she beat in the last U.S. Open final.
Murray had some challenges in overcoming his 22-year-old Ukrainian rival, who grew up playing with tour professionals because his father was a coach. He seems to have cherry picked a shot or technique from every one of them and bundled it all together.
"It was very tough. Every point is different. He hits the ball different from everyone else - it's tough to explain," Murray said. "It was a very tough match and tough to get my rhythm.
"I'm going to need a little bit more in the next match.
Dolgopolov was able to mix up his slice and spin with deep flat shots, sometimes at the net, sometimes at the baseline, and rarely giving Murray a look at the same ball twice in a row.
