Roddick's big weapon will pose problem, says McEnroe

ANDY Murray must find a way to shoot down the top gun in tennis if he is to send the nation's hopes soaring by reaching Sunday's Wimbledon final.

Murray faces Andy Roddick in today's second semi-final on Centre Court and has been warned by John McEnroe that he had "better be ready".

Roddick holds the record for the fastest serve in tennis at 155mph. His fastest serve so far this tournament is 141mph and so far he has thundered down 139 aces, second only to Ivo Karlovic.

McEnroe said: "He possesses one major weapon in that serve. It's the hardest I've ever seen. At the very least he has a puncher's chance, so Murray better be ready. Roddick's a smart guy and the pressure being off should help him."

But while Roddick's serve is an obvious threat, Murray, whose epic fourth-round encounter against Stanislas Wawrinka attracted 12.6million BBC viewers at its peak, has demonstrated during Wimbledon 2009 that he has matured into the complete tennis player.

His own first serve has been clocking in at more than 130mph regularly on the speed gun, while his ability to switch defence into devastating attack with the variety of his shot-making has been the feature of the tournament.

Roddick has traced Murray's rapid rise and puts much of it down to the maturity and experience he gained in defeating Richard Gasquet in a five-set thriller last year. The American No 1 said: "I think this tournament did wonders for him last year, especially the Gasquet match. Everyone thought it was going to be a matter of time. He's certainly capable of hitting all the shots. It's just a matter of being able to do it day after day now. There's a certain comfort level where you go out there and it's like second nature. I think he's acquired that since last year."

Roddick reached the Wimbledon final in 2004 and 2005, losing both times to Roger Federer. His one grand slam success came at the 2003 US Open, but while his one-dimensional game appeared to have been left behind by players such as Federer and Rafael Nadal, he proved by reaching the semi-final at the Australian Open in January that he is still a force.

Roddick said: "With my serve I can give myself a chance in any match. I'm going to have to play well and hopefully he would probably say the same. He's certainly in the conversation among the best returners."

Lleyton Hewitt backs Murray to beat Roddick and reach the final today. Murray cruised into the semi-finals with a 7-5 6-3 6-2 victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero on Wednesday, and then had the luxury of sitting back to watch Roddick edge a five-set thriller with 2002 champion Hewitt on Court One.

Hewitt believes Murray will come out on top on Centre Court. "I think it's going to be a tough one for Roddick to win," said the Australian, who defied a leg injury to twice come back from a set down against Roddick to force a decider which the American won 6-4.

"When I've seen Andy Murray at his best, I think he matches up extremely well against Roddick. It's going to be an interesting match.

"A couple of years ago I saw them play here because they were in my section, and Murray took care of him convincingly. And Murray is a lot better player now than he was then. Roddick's going to have to play a hell of a match to beat him."

The match Hewitt referred to came in the third round in 2006, with Roddick having lost in the previous two finals to Roger Federer. Murray was only 19 at the time and making just his second appearance at Wimbledon, but won 7-6 6-4 6-4 and has a 6-2 career record against the former world No 1.

Their most recent meeting came in the final in Doha earlier this year and Murray won 6-4, 6-2. Against Ferrero, Murray edged a tight opening set but went 3-1 down in the second before stepping up a gear to win 11 of the next 13 games.

BRITAIN IN 1938

BRITAIN has not had a finalist in the men's singles at Wimbledon since 1938, when Bunny Austin lost to Don Budge of the United States in straight sets. The Englishman's real name was Henry Wilfred Austin, and the nickname 'Bunny' came from a comic strip, Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

Here are a few of the events that took place in the United Kingdom 71 years ago:

• Neville Chamberlain completed his first year as Prime Minister, and signed the Munich Agreement which conceded part of Czechoslovakia to Germany as part of a policy of appeasement. He returned to Britain and gave his famous 'peace for our time' speech at the airport. Within a year Europe was at war.

• George VI, the reluctant king when he ascended to the throne in 1936, was in the second of his 16 years as monarch.

• The Empire Exhibition opened in Glasgow from May to December, attracting 12 million visitors to Bellahouston Park despite it being one of the wettest summers on record.

• The Beano comic went on sale for the first time on 26 July. Picture Post magazine was published for the first time on 1 October.

• Births included Arthur Scargill, John Prescott, David Bailey, Ian Brady, Diana Rigg, Terence Stamp, Frederick Forsyth, Derek Jacobi, David Dimbleby and Rodney Bewes.

• Second Division football side East Fife became the first and only club from outside the top division to win the Scottish Cup, while in England, Preston North End lifted the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town, the goal scored by Scotland internationalist George Mutch.

• Scotland won rugby's Triple Crown as legendary captain Wilson Shaw led the national side to a rare victory at Twickenham, the Scots scoring five tries in a thrilling 21-16 win.