Rafael Nadal expects 'big challenge' from Andy Murray

Rafael Nadal believes he will need to live up to his moniker as the 'King of Clay' if he is to beat Andy Murray in the French Open semi-finals today and keep alive his hopes of equalling Bjorn Borg's record of six titles.

The Spaniard, who turns 25 today, will go into the clash as the heavy favourite because of his unbelievable record at Roland Garros, where he has won 43 matches and only lost one.

Murray, meanwhile, will play in the last four in Paris for the first time, but Nadal is a great admirer of the Scotsman's talents.

He said: "Playing against Andy is always a big challenge because you know how good he is. He has all the shots. He can defend very well, he can attack very well, he runs fantastic.

"The only way that you can beat him is playing at a very, very high level. Without that it would be impossible. That's what I'm going to try to do."