MELBOURNE: Andy Murray wore down tiring Croatian 14th seed Marin Cilic over four sets to become the first Briton to reach the Australian Open final in 33 years today.

The fifth seeded Scot, who had been on court eight hours less than Cilic for the tournament, won 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in three hours and two minutes. Murray will now play

either Swiss top seed Roger Federer or French 10th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday’s final. Three-time Australian champion Federer plays the 2008 finalist Tsonga on Friday.

“It’s really important to make the final,” Murray said. “I mean, after last

year I had a few tough losses in the Grand Slams. It’s

nice. It’s what you work

for. Obviously, I want to

try and win one.” John

Lloyd was the last Briton to play in an Australian final in 1977 while Fred Perry was the last British champion here in 1934.

Murray is bidding to become the first British male Grand Slam champion since Perry won the 1936

US Open. Virginia Wade

was the last British women to win a Grand Slam, at Wimbledon in 1977. It is Murray’s second Grand Slam final after he lost to Federer in the 2008 US Open decider.

The intense Scot also avenged his defeat to Cilic in the fourth round of last year’s US Open in straight sets. The loss ended Cilic’s unbeaten 10-match start to the new season, while Murray stands at 9-1.

The Scot came under pressure in the opening set with double breaks to drop his first set of the tournament. But a major turning point came in the fifth game of the next set when he broke after a magnificent rally, where he ran down a drop shot, made an instinctive lunge volley and then scampered back to retrieve a lob for a magical winner.

Murray gave a full-throated long scream and was fired up for the remainder of the set. He had break points on Cilic’s serve

in the seventh but was denied, and served out with three set points, winning it on his second with a forehand winner.

Cilic’s first serve percentage was tailing off and Murray broke him twice in the third set, giving one back, as he moved to a two sets to one lead. Murray pressed against the tiring Croat and broke in the third game of the fourth set when Cilic double-faulted. Murray brought up the first of two match points with a magnificent running forehand from well outside the court before claiming the match.

On women’s section, Justine Henin capped her remarkable comeback by storming into the final where she will meet the imposing Serena Williams gunning for her fifth title. The tenacious Henin is playing her first Grand Slam since coming out of an 18-month retirement and kept her historic run going with a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of unseeded Chinese Zheng Jie.

Williams also had to negotiate Chinese opposition and was made to work

hard by 16th seed Li Na before grinding her down 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/1) under a hot sun on the Rod Laver Arena to set up an enticing decider on Saturday.

Ever since she announced her return to tennis the talk has been about whether Henin could emulate Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters, who won last year’s US Open on her own comeback. And the former World No 1 has lived up to expectations after being handed a wildcard by organisers. She destroyed Zheng as she stayed on track to add to her seven Grand Slam titles, including the 2004 Australian Open.

The biggest test of her comeback will come in

the form of Williams, who is angling for a 12th Grand Slam title to put her alongside Billie Jean King. She saw off Li in just over two hours, with the rising Chinese star saving four match points before a delighted Williams clinched the win with an ace.

The World No 1, who came back from the brink of defeat in a gruelling quarter-final against Victoria Azarenka, is also hoping to become the first player to successfully defend her title since American Jennifer Capriati in 2002.

But Williams was made to fight hard against a determined Li, who was not overawed playing in her first Grand Slam semi-final.

She pushed Williams all

the way and learned a

lot from playing such a high-profile game.