Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, whose match was moved to Louis Armstrong Stadium because of the threatening weather, had to put on their rain gear after Murray won the first two sets 6-2 7-6.

Nadal was up 3-2 in the third and had a service break when the downpour started and they had to make a dash for cover. I thought the rain delay would help Nadal, but Murray surprised me once more. The Scot had already shocked me by staying with the top seed during the long baseline rallies, which is Nadal's strongest weapon.

Nadal and Murray were back on the court (Ashe Stadium this time) at 4pm Sunday and Murray continued his fearless play, beating the best player in the world 6-2 7-6 4-6 6-4. With the victory, he becomes the first player from Britain to reach the US Open final since Greg Rusedski in 1997.

With the win, I think he has put himself in position to become first Brit since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the singles title (the year Perry won all four of the majors). Nadal came up short here, but is shouldn't diminish what he has accomplished - throughout this year he has been the best in the men’s game.

What was Murray strategy? I really became a fan of the Scot after he defeated Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter-finals 7-6 7-6 4-6 7-5. He has a tremendous backhand and a very good serve. He changes speed as smooth as a good driver changes gears in a race car and he’s very clever with it.

Nadal and Murray played a tiring three hours and 30 minutes. Of the 275 points contested, Murray earned 149. He had 11 more winners than unforced errors. He made Nadal very un-Nadal-like, forcing him to commit eight more unforced errors than winners. Even more remarkable, Murray had 21 aces against one of the game’s best returners, and only three double faults.

He kept Nadal off balance, varying the pace, returning serve from almost the baseline fence and making Nadal cover more of the court than normal by using the width and depth as if he was teaching a class in geometry.

It seems the usually classy Federer has grown resentful over what has had been written this year about him not having mononucleosis. I think in Australia it was a factor in his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. He is now 7-2 in his career against Djokovic and I think he wanted to prove a point.

For the second year in a row, all four US Open semi-finalists were from Europe. It was also the first time since 1992 that the top three seeds reached the semis. Federer, who has 36 career hard court titles that ties him with Pete Sampras, was the only one in the group who hadn’t won a tournament on the surface this year. Murray has won three and both Djokovic and Nadal have two.

The US Open has been Murray’s favourite tournament since he won the boys’ championship as a 17-year-old in 2004. He has become a factor in the men’s game, and I think that is wonderful for Britain.

He admits that, in the past, he didn’t deal well with the press. This is not surprising since the tabloids would kill anyone who isn’t Christ. Still, his career record is 2-1 against Federer, having defeated him in Dubai this year 6-7 6-3 6-4 and in Cincinnati two years ago.

Federer is chasing Sampras, who won a record 14 Majors. He has 12 now, and 34 straight wins in New York (Bill Tilden holds the tournament record with 42). He is looking to for a sparkling end to what has been a drab year.

Murray is much more subtle than Djokovic and I think he will therefore give Federer more trouble. He has a real shot and, though he will not have had as much rest as the defending champion, I don’t think this will be a problem. It’s his first Grand Slam final, but he has proved he can handle the pressure of the big occasion.