ANDY FINALLY FINDING HIS FEET ON CLAY

THE evidence is mounting that Andy Murray, just shy of his 29th birthday, is still improving when it comes to the complex art of clay-court tennis. The Scot stands on the brink of making the final of the Italian Open for the first time in his career. He meets French outsider Lucas Pouille in the semi-final today and already has made one breakthrough, that of reaching the last four or better of the three Masters level events on the brown dirt which lead into Roland Garros. Yet standing between Murray and a possible title looks likely to be the inevitable figure of Novak Djokovic, who won a pulsating quarter-final 7-5, 7-6 against Rafael Nadal, despite the Spaniard leading by a break in both sets. Djokovic will face Kei Nishikori — who beat Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-5 — tonight. Murray made the last four when he replicated his Davis Cup triumph of last November by beating the subsequently improved Belgian No 1 David Goffin 6-1, 7-5 in a capricious wind at the Foro Italico’s steeply-banked stadium court. He said: ‘I think I’m getting rewarded now for the work I put in over the years on this surface. It took time to feel comfortable on it. I didn’t sort of just give up on clay and say: “You know what? This isn’t my surface. I’m not going to prepare for it properly or train hard”. ‘To get the chance to play in the final here would be really good, so I will be up for the semi-final.’