IF THIS Australian Open foreshadows the end of the Roger/Rafa duopoly, day one of the new era brought promise that it at least would be as brave as is Scotland in the song.

When Andy Murray - for so long the man most likely - was a point away from falling two sets behind David Ferrer, he had the look of a man who had freed himself from one tyranny, only to fall under the yoke of another. Spain and Europe would rule.

But the way Murray extricated himself, transforming mastered into master, then gathering himself again when Ferrer essayed a last fling, to win 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, 7-6 (7-2), showed that he will be a worthy champion if he leads Great Britain out of the wilderness tomorrow night.

This will be his third grand slam final, but the first against a player other than Roger Federer. Of course, that player is Novak Djokovic, Federer's assassin here, and already a winner of this tournament.

But no one will underestimate the Scot. Because the pace of the Melbourne Park courts suited him, he had thought this tournament was his best chance to win a major even before Federer and No.1 Rafael Nadal were eliminated. Now it yawns before him.

''The first final, I didn't know what was going on, it happened so quick,'' he said. ''Last year was better. Hopefully this year it will be better again.''

Belying its billing, this became a match that no one wanted to end, nor at times did it look likely to, not soon, a match made more apocalyptic by plagues of seagulls and moths and other bugs.

In Murray's box, women's world No.1 and beaten semi-finalist Caroline Wozniacki watched, to see how the boys do it. So did Murray's mother, Judy.

Murray began it as if all the expectation weighed too heavily. The match, as you might expect of two masterful defensive players, was characterised by long rallies. At its best, the pair played points in which each of a succession of shots looked like a winner, only to be trumped by the next, and the crowd's noise, gasp upon choked gasp, was the soundtrack. Murray won his share of these. But he gave away too many others, too cheaply.

Ferrer then was true to his reputation, a retriever, tirelessly fetching and dumping the runaway ball back at Murray's feet. The least he deserved out of the match was a bone. But that does no justice to his impregnable courtcraft. A timely break late at the end of the first set and the opening of a chink in the second gained him the box seat.

Murray repeatedly chastised himself, making his own name sound like an expletive.

But Murray escaped the noose at set point. Later, extraordinarily, he admitted that he was oblivious to it. ''I didn't realise,'' the fifth seed said. ''I thought it was 4-3. I didn't realise it. it probably helped me.''

Emboldened, he served for the set, faltered, then sped to a 6-0 lead in the tie-breaker. Not even Ferrer, the seventh seed, could get that back. In his seat, he damned himself with whatever is Spanish for ''ugh''!

Murray's doggedness ought not to be overlooked. He is more Scottish sheepdog than retriever, never letting the ball out of heel-snapping range. But he also has levels and levers to his game that Ferrer perhaps does not. His hands are made of steel and silk, also of strings. Now he attacked, finding his range on his serve, advancing into the court, upping Ferrer's ante.

Point by point, the match was still replete with improbable feats, some born of desperation, some inspiration.

But the momentum was with Murray. He pocketed the third set and quickly led by a break in the fourth. But Ferrer was not done, because he never is. He recovered the break, marking the moment with a scream of ''vamos!''. Murray showed weariness, of body and mind, squandering points and challenges. ''I was expecting an unbelievably tough match and I got it,'' he said.

But when it came to another tie-breaker, Ferrer was fatally handicapped; he had lost 10 consecutive Australian Open tie-breakers. Now it became 11, and the match was done.

Murray does not rule, yet. But at last, he has the keys to the kingdom.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/australian-open/murray-earns-chance-to-make-amends-20110128-1a8ku.html