Murray takes on Nadal for semi-final place

Andy Murray won the first set of hsi Australian Open quarter final against Rafa Nadal as both men struggled to hold their serve.

The opening stanza lasted almost an hour and contained some of the best tennis of the tournament so far. Nadal broke Murray in the third game of the first set only for the Scot to break back immediately, and both players were taken to deuce in other service games.

Murray made the crucial breakthrough when he won Nadal's serve a second time and then served for the set at 5-3, but he was forced to save four break points before finally winning through.

The hotly anticipated match-up was delayed by half-an-hour because of the previous match between 14th seed Mario Cilic and American Andy Roddick, seeded seven, which went to five sets.

Croatian Cilic won out in the end as he held off a Roddick fightback to win 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-3. It was the third time in four games that he had gone the distance, but the win takes him to his first ever Grand Slam semi final, where he will meet either Murray or Nadal.

In the women's draw Justine Henin continued her remarkable run after coming out of retirement. In only the second tournament of her comeback 27-year-old Henin, who was given a wildcard entry and is unseeded, made the semi finals with a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 win over 19th seed Nadia Petrova.

She will play Jie Zheng of China in the semi. She beat Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-3 in the day's other quarter final.

Briton Laura Robson made it through to the third round of the girl's tournament, beating 11th seed Yulia Putintseva of Russia 6-2 3-6 6-2.

Robson did not qualify for the senior women's draw, but has made the quarter finals of the ladies doubles. She and her partner, Australian Sally Peers, take on 15th seeds Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Kirilenko on Wednesday, the same day as Robson's next match in the girl's tournament. ·