MELBOURNE, Australia — Four-time runner-up Andy Murray has another opportunity at an elusive Australian Open title after outlasting Canada's Milos Raonic on Friday in an epic five-set semifinal.
He now will face Novak Djokovic on Sunday in the men's final. A rematch of 2015's title match, Murray and defending champ Djokovic are scheduled to play beginning at 3 a.m. ET.
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Andy Murray and Milos Raonic (Getty Images)
Saturday's women's final pits defending champion Serena Williams against. Match time is scheduled for 3:30 a.m. ET. Williams faces seventh seed Angelique Kerber. She is bidding for a 22nd career Grand Slam title, which would match Steffi Graf for most all time.
Williams said she is playing her best tennis entering the title match. This is Kerber's first Grand Slam final
Djokovic, winner of three Grand Slam tournaments in 2015, is No. 1 in world rankings. Murray is No. 2.
Murray lost the first and third sets but dug deep to see off Raonic 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2, in a four-hour battle on Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park.
Raonic was dominant in stretches, and his aggressive serve-and-volley game troubled Murray. But an apparent groin injury slowed him late in the contest
"I couldn't push off, I couldn't get up to serve, and I couldn't change direction," Raonic told media members after the match. "Probably the most heartbroken I've felt on court."
It was the second time Raonic had been in a Grand Slam semifinal. He won neither time. He had 78 unforced errors, 50 more than Murray, but hit 72 winners to Murray's 38.
Murray is a two-time major winner but has had no success at Melbourne. This will be his third crack at Djokovic, who beat him for titles in 2011 and '13.
Murray said he has nothing to fear on Sunday.
"Five finals is a great achievement. You can't take that away from me. I should be happy about that," Murray told reporters.
"There's very few players that will have made five Australian Open finals, so I have to be proud of that achievement."
Djokovic advanced by beating Roger Federer in four sets on Thursday. Thus, Djokovic has an extra 24 hours to recover.
"It's worked both ways for me," Murray said. "If you play a quick match on the Friday, it doesn't really make a huge difference. Obviously you play the five sets it isn't ideal, but Novak also won here the time we played five hours and then played a six-hour final. So it's doable."
Raonic called for the trainer and took an off-court medical time out early in the fourth set. Upset at his sliding performance, Raonic lashed out during the fifth set.
"I guess that was sort of just the whole frustration of everything sort of getting out," he said. "I don't think that's like myself to do, but sometimes it's a little bit too much to keep in."