Andy Murray Founders Against the Awesome Might of Rafael Nadal

It seems there is a greater possibility of the Rockies tumbling or the Rock of Gibraltar breaking into tiny pieces than Rafael Nadal losing a match at either the Monte Carlo Country Club, where he has won the title for the past four years, or at Roland Garros, where the four times French Open champion has never been beaten. In the semi-final here he defeated Britain's Andy Murray 6-2 7-6 (7-4), although Murray should take much encouragement from his performance, particularly in the second set when, at 5-3 down, he played with a wonderful aggression that briefly rocked Nadal.

Playing his first semi-final on the ­surface, Murray refused to view the situation as impossible, but, as the ­opening set rushed by, quickly realized the ­improbability of defying this Spanish force of nature. It was not that ­Murray's improvement on the surface had ­suddenly deserted him, simply that he was facing a phenomenon. Nadal is the best player in the world anyway; on clay he is all but unbeatable – "probably the greatest clay-court player ever," as ­Murray said afterwards. Consider this statistic: since the beginning of 2005, Nadal's win-loss ratio on the surface is 137-4.

Murray had suggested this match would "be a good way to see where my game is at on clay". The answer was that he is fast becoming as assured and dangerous on it as on hard courts, his favorite surface. You would already fancy his chances against Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic, both ranked above him, though clearly Nadal is something rather special. On clay he magnifies his opponent's weaknesses, seeking out frailty like a shark seeks out blood.

There has always been something primal about him. The languid beauty of Federer has thrilled the tennis ­purists, and rightly so; Nadal appeals to different emotions, ones that were immediately obvious when he made his professional debut here six years ago as a 16-year-old boy-man and won two matches, ­including a victory over Albert Costa, his fellow Spaniard and the then ­reigning French Open champion. Nadal has not lost here since.

Murray might have been tempted to give himself an easy exit after losing the first set, but that was far from the case. He knew well that the longer he kept Nadal on court, the more he would learn about his opponent and himself, and there were moments when Nadal's coach, his uncle Toni, applauded the intensity of Murray's efforts. He had taken time out to watch Murray's quarter-final against Nikolay Davydenko, signifying that, even on Nadal's favorite surface, Murray could not be taken for granted.

The longer this semi-final lasted the more composed Murray appeared. His US Open semi-final victory over the world No1 last year had been a seminal moment in his career, and although he suffered a heavy defeat in the Indian Wells Masters final last month, when Nadal adapted much better to the windy conditions, he opened up in the latter stages here with a sustained barrage that made Nadal fret. "He could win the French Open," the Spaniard said, though he did not specify when. The problem for any opponent is that such intensity has to be maintained, as Federer has ­discovered so often.

Murray's win over Davydenko under the floodlights on Friday evening was, without doubt, his best performance on clay. He had set himself the target of reaching his first quarter-final on clay; having made it to the last eight, his aim had been to prevail over one of the ­better clay-court exponents. Job done. "It's not just about hitting the ball great all the time," Murray said. "It's about using your legs, running hard, and making sure you get good clearance over the net. It's tough to attack." So it is, although against Nadal in those latter stages Murray discovered the right balance of defence and attack. "At the end I started to play ­properly," Murray said, ever the realist.

In today's final, Nadal will play ­Djokovic, who beat Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 4-6 6-1 6-3 in the first semi-final, having been a break down in the third set. This victory ensured Djokovic remains at No3 in the world ahead of Murray, at least for the time being.