Back to work for Murray after historic triumph

LONDON

Andy Murray insists there is no time to celebrate his historic Wimbledon semi-final win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga because he must go straight to work on his plan to win the title in Sunday's final against Roger Federer.

Murray became the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final since Bunny Austin in 1938 as he defeated Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in front of an ecstatic Centre Court crowd on Friday.

The 25-year-old Scot seemed overcome with emotion before leaving the court, but is adamant he has no intention of making a big deal of his win because it will count for nothing if he doesn't beat Federer to claim his first Grand Slam crown.

That was the message driven home by his coach Ivan Lendl, an eight-time Grand Slam title winner, who offered only brief congratulations before focusing on their next practice session on Saturday morning.

"It's not the end of the tournament yet. The time for all of that stuff comes when I'm done," Murray said.

"I spoke to Ivan after the match. He said; 'Good job. You did really well. What time do you want to practice tomorrow?' That's it. There's no time for anything else.

"You have to try to make sure you don't get too excited on the court. Maybe in the past I was too up and down.

"I'd say that's the one thing I've learned from being around Ivan. It wasn't like we were jumping around the locker room with excitement. It was; 'There's one more match to go. Well done today, but let's focus on the next one'."

With Lendl's instructions ringing in his ears, Murray plans to have a quiet night in and a meal with his girlfriend Kim Sears.

"It's not every day you reach the Wimbledon final, but I'll go back home, have a nice meal with my girlfriend, and then just enjoy it with her. That's it," he said.

"I'm not going to go out and celebrate tonight. I heard there's a cocktail party here which I've been invited to but probably won't be participating in."

If Murray can defeat Federer, he would become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

But the world number four knows that is easier said than done, especially after losing to Federer in the 2010 Australian Open final and the 2008 US Open final.

Federer, who defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, can equal Pete Sampras's record of seven Wimbledon titles if he wins on Sunday and Murray was quick to rubbish suggestions that the 30-year-old, who last won a Grand Slam in 2010, is past his best.

"The last couple of years his record in the slams has been unbelievable to me," Murray said.

"He's lost some close matches in the slams the last few years, but he had match points against Novak at the US Open maybe two years in a row.

"I don't think, if you look at the way he played today, you can't say he's past it or because he's 30 he's playing worse tennis. I just think the players around have gotten better."