Andy Murray reached the first grand slam final of his career with the result of his life to beat world number one Rafael Nadal in a rain-delayed US Open semi-final in New York on this day in 2008.
The then 21-year-old returned to the court 26 hours after a downpour from Tropical Storm Hanna had left him two sets up but a break down in the third to complete a 6-2 7-6 4-6 6-4 victory over Nadal after three hours and 30 minutes of play across the two days.
In doing so the Scot became the first Briton to contest a grand slam final since Greg Rusedski lost to Patrick Rafter in the 1997 US Open final and was bidding to become the first British man to win a grand slam since Fred Perry at the US Open in 1936.
"It's awesome to beat him, a great feeling. He's beaten me five times in a row, so that was tough, and to do it in a semi meant it was really difficult," said Murray.
"I'm going to have to play great if I want to have a chance of winning."
Murray lost the final in straight sets to Roger Federer.
The Scot tasted more major final heartbreak in the Australian Open in 2010 and 2011 but the US Open would be the scene of his first grand slam win with victory over Novak Djokovic, before twice winning Wimbledon.
