Wimbledon 2011: How Andy Murray can beat Rafael Nadal

Andy Murray's bid to become the first British man to reach the men's singles final at Wimbledon since 1938 faces the ultimate challenge - a semi-final on Friday against defending champion Rafael Nadal.
Murray has barely been tested so far, but knows he is going to have to play at his very best to beat the 10-time Grand Slam winner.
The Scot has managed only four wins in 15 encounters with Nadal and lost in straight sets to the Spaniard at this stage last year, and again recently in the French Open semi-finals.
BBC tennis experts Tim Henman, John McEnroe and Greg Rusedski give their tactical analysis on how he can beat Nadal, and Andy Murray himself outlines his plan of attack.

TRY TO GET UNDER HIS SKIN - JOHN MCENROE

"Murray has beaten him on four different occasions, including the US Open semi-final.
"I would make sure the umpire is aware of the rules on time-delay warnings. Nadal seems to take his time often, so try to get under his skin. He's got a routine, Murray should say 'I'm not accepting this'.

Murray's Wimbledon highs and lows

"I would try to cut off Nadal's wide serve. Then when Murray is serving I would say that instead of going big and hitting 50% of his first serves in by going flat-out, he should take a little off so that he doesn't have to have as many second serves, which Nadal can pounce upon."

ANDY HAS GOT TO BE PROACTIVE - TIM HENMAN

"Strategy is very important. If he plays too cautiously then I think Nadal is just so good from the back of the court - he hits the ball so hard.
"Andy's got to try and make things happen, but he's beaten Nadal before and I definitely think he can win on Friday.
"It is so difficult to pick a weakness in Rafa's game, but I would say it is his backhand return at the deuce box. I think that is where I would like to see Andy using a slower serve out wide and maybe sneaking in to serve and volley a bit, as I think he can win some cheap points.
"It's an option Juan Martin del Potro exploited in his fourth-round match with Nadal and it is something for Andy to look out for.

This Hawk-Eye graphic shows the consistency Andy Murray had with his second serve against Feliciano Lopez. In his semi-final with Rafael Nadal, Tim Henman thinks Murray will need to be more aggressive and show more variety with his second serve.

"His second serve percentage of 65% against Feliciano Lopez was good, but it's flattering because Lopez doesn't really have the baseline game of Nadal.
"He has still got to be aggressive on his second serves as he doesn't want to let Nadal dominate. It's about him getting this balance right. He has to be proactive and look to be aggressive.
"I would like to see him increase his percentage of first serves in to more than 60%, but while still making sure he is winning 85% of first serve points, as he did against Lopez.
"That would be a great combination and the sort of numbers he will need to achieve against Nadal.
"It means he should hold his serve comfortably and then he can put more pressure on the return game because he can be even more aggressive."

BE AGGRESSIVE ON THE SECOND SERVE - GREG RUSEDSKI

"The problem that Andy has with playing Nadal is that Rafa always brings out his best tennis from the semi-finals onwards.
"Murray is going to have to play the match of his life.
"We all thought he had a good chance last year because Nadal went through a struggle against Philipp Petzschner in the early rounds, but Nadal stepped it up - he really knows what he needs to do against the big guys.
"Rafa hasn't served brilliantly throughout the championship so I think it is important for Andy to step in and be aggressive like he was when he beat him at the US Open in 2008. He really took it to Rafa that day, and if he is going to win he has got to get the balance just right.

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Relaxed Murray ready to 'up his game'

"Crucial to this is how aggressive Andy is on his second serve. It was really punished against Ivan Ljubicic, so expect Rafa to get in there and give it a good whack.
"He cannot give Rafa the chance to dictate rallies by hitting the ball where he wants it, as Andy will be in trouble and constantly running from left to right.
"He needs to serve out wide to open up points, which will give him the chance to take control. He has got to get the mixture just right between being aggressive and going for all out attack.
"It will be intriguing to see how the crowds react on Centre Court as Rafa has so many fans out there, like we saw in last year's semi-final.
"Andy has to use the crowd to his advantage, but it is also hard for people to clap against Rafa as he is such a wonderful gentleman and champion."

NEUTRALISE HIS STRENGTHS - ANDY MURRAY

"Some people think you have to blast through Rafa and go for everything, but you have to be patient.
"If you watch how world number two Novak Djokovic played when he beat Rafa on the clay in the Madrid Masters and Rome Masters last month he was very solid, didn't take huge risks, but hit the ball with a lot of authority.
"You can't just leave the ball in the middle of the court against Rafa, but at the same time trying to hit winners off the first shot of the rally just doesn't work.

MURRAY v NADAL HEAD-TO-HEAD 15 meetings (Nine hardcourt, four clay, two on grass) Murray: 4 wins Nadal: 11 wins Two meetings at Wimbledon: 2 wins for Nadal (2008 quarter-finals and 2010 semi-final)

"Our last match was the semi-final of the French Open a few weeks ago and the switch to grass here does mean my tactics will change. His best shots on the clay will be different on grass and he'll have different patterns of play, so I need to take that on board before I go out on the court.
"His ball doesn't bounce up as high on grass, it comes through the court quicker, and although it's still pretty heavy you can change the rally in one shot on this surface.
"On clay, once you're behind in the rally it's very difficult to get yourself back into it. On grass, if I can get a good, deep hit in when I'm out of position then I can get myself back into the rally pretty quickly.
"It's all about understanding what he's going to do, and what I'm going to do to neutralise his strengths."

Murray sweeps into semi-finals