LONDON -- When you've waited 72 years for a male Grand Slam title winner, you can forgive Britain for getting feverishly excited about Andy Murray's progression to the U.S. Open final.
Murray's semifinal victory over top-ranked Rafael Nadal raised the hopes of long-suffering British tennis fans for a first homegrown Grand Slam men's champion since 1936 when Fred Perry won the U.S. Open.
"The year that a British male last won a Grand Slam singles title, they were doing Nazi salutes at the Olympics, and there was an abdication crisis in Britain's royal family," the Daily Telegraph said Monday.
To end the drought, the 21-year-old Scot will have to pull off another major coup -- beating four-time defending champion Roger Federer. Murray was 2-1 lifetime against Federer, though British oddsmakers listed the Swiss star as 1-2 favorite.
British fans were still buzzing Monday over Murray's pulsating 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 win over Nadal on Sunday in the completion of a rain-interrupted match. This was no fluke. Murray simply outplayed Nadal with some breathtaking tennis, even dominating him at his own game from the baseline.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, not known as much of a tennis fan, stayed up late to watch the end of the match.
"I think the whole country will be willing him on today," Brown told reporters Monday. "He shows remarkable tenacity and determination. Even when he falls back, he really pushes himself forward. So this is a triumph for courage and willpower and determination."
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond also weighed in.
"I was glued to the TV for what was a truly epic match with fantastic tennis on display," he said.
Nowhere was Murray's success more closely followed than in his hometown of Dunblane, where his grandmother, Shirley Erskine, became an overnight media celebrity.
"He's up there with the big three," she said, referring to Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic. "Nadal was the only one he has never beaten. He's beaten them all now."
A triumph for Murray in the final would be a milestone for a country starved for tennis success. Since Perry's '36 win, there have been only four British male Grand Slam finalists, and all were losers.
Bunny Austin lost in the 1937 French Open and 1938 Wimbledon finals to Henner Henkel and Don Budge, respectively; John Lloyd fell to Vitas Gerulaitis at the 1977 Australian Open; and Canadian-born Greg Rusedski was beaten by Pat Rafter at the 1997 U.S. Open.
