We take a look at how the US Open final will be decided as Andy Murray tackles Roger Federer.
Watch Murray v Federer in the US Open final, live on Sky Sports 1 10pm Monday
Andy Murray will be gunning for his first Grand Slam title in his maiden final on Monday when he battles Roger Federer at the US Open.
Federer has won four in a row at Flushing Meadows bu Murray has beaten him before and will be on a high after his amazing win over Rafael Nadal in the semis.
Here we preview the US Open final and see how the two finalists measure up.
FORM
Apart from a blip at the Olympics, Murray is in the form of his life. The Scot reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon earlier this summer and then landed his maiden Masters Series title at Cincinnati in August, where he overcame world number three Novak Djokovic in the final. Having reached the semi-finals at New York this fortnight, many expected his challenge to end there, but he beat world number one Rafael Nadal for the first time to roll through to the final.
Federer has had to deal with repeated suggestions his game is on the decline. There may be an element of truth to the claims, for the 27-year-old has not yet won a Grand Slam this year, and this is his final chance to add to his 12 majors. But he was only narrowly beaten by Nadal in their epic Wimbledon final, and he was too strong for Djokovic in the last four at this event. Moreover, his win-loss record in 2008 is significantly better than Murray's.
US OPEN RECORD
Murray has already been a champion at Flushing Meadows - he won the boys' singles in 2004. And he has not hidden his liking for the tournament and for the American hardcourts in general, where he has won three of his six career tour titles. Until this fortnight he had not gone beyond the fourth round at the US Open though, and he lost last year in the third round to Korean player Hyung-Taik Lee.
The size of the challenge facing Murray is underlined by Federer's outstanding US Open record. He has been champion for each of the past four years and is looking to extend a run which began in 2003 of winning at least one Grand Slam in each season.
TEMPERAMENT
Is there still a question mark over Murray's temperament? Perhaps the way he conquered Nadal in the semi-finals was confirmation he can handle the most intense pressure on a tennis court. He will continue to be dubbed a 'fiery' player because of his obvious passion for a sporting battle, but he appears more in control than ever. He might not have the mild-mannered approach of a Tim Henman or Pete Sampras but Murray always did idolise Andre Agassi.
Federer, incredible as it may seem, was not always a cool-headed player. He stopped flinging his racquets at an early age though and a remarkable character emerged, with unbelievable focus and drive. Winning so often has surely helped, and if he keeps his cool to land the US Open title it could launch a late-season challenge to Nadal for the top ranking.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Murray has the edge here, having won two of their three previous encounters. Federer won the pair's first clash in 2005, Murray's breakthrough season. That clash, in Bangkok, was won 6-3 7-5 by the Swiss. Murray hit back the following year in Cincinnati where he stunned Federer with a 7-5 6-4 triumph. It was one of just five defeats that year for Federer. Then earlier this season Murray moved ahead with victory in the first round in Dubai. Murray lost the first set on a tie-break but hit back to win the next two 6-3 6-4. Afterwards Federer made critical comments about Murray's game, saying he needed to be more aggressive to truly shine at the top. Those could come back to hurt Federer on Monday.
All three of those previous clashes have taken place on a hardcourt - the same surface Monday's final will be held on. However, the players have yet to play a best-of-five-sets match.
