Andy Murray will today battle to become the first British man to reach a Wimbledon final since 1938.

The 22-year-old Scot will walk out on to Centre Court to face American Andy Roddick, a former world number one.

Murray is prepared for a fight - he has been watching clips of boxing and cage fighting on YouTube. And he will have to be on top form to overcome his opponent.

Roddick recorded the fastest serve yet at the Wimbledon championships - 146mph in 2004.

Follow Murray's progress with our live commentary here this afternoon

Murray meanwhile is one of the best returners in the game. And the "Battle of the Andys" could be a case of punch and counter-punch.

Murray has a 6-2 winning record against his opponent. While he is considered the up-and-coming star, Roddick, at the age of 26, is considered a veteran.

He was a Wimbledon runner-up in 2004 and 2005 and is bidding to reach his third final.

The former world number one won the US Open in 2003. Murray was runner up there last year.

If Murray wins a place in the final he will be the first British man to make it since Henry "Bunny" Austin 71 years ago.

Roger Taylor made the semis twice while Tim Henman played for a place in the final four times, most recently in 2002 against Australian Lleyton Hewitt.

But neither of them made it to the final.

At 6ft 3in Murray is an inch taller than his rival.

And he has another advantage. The world number three eased through his quarter final against Juan Carlos Ferrero in three straight sets.

Roddick, now ranked world number six, had to battle it out against Hewitt in a five set epic.

He says he is in better shape than he was in his early 20s and he is by no means an old man.

But Murray, known as one of the fittest men on the tour, will be hoping he has more running in his legs.

If it rains, Murray believes he has the bonus of having already played under Centre Court's new roof.

Both men are keen users of the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Roddick at least beats Murray in that regard, having "tweeted" about twice as many times during the tournament.

Murray spent yesterday in his usual routine - tennis football, practise, ice bath, physio and massage.

He said he was going to try to relax watching television and try not to think about the match.

He certainly will not have been reading the sports pages or listening to the media hype - Murray says he actively ignores the press reports.

He prefers to stay in the bubble of normality created by his four-man coaching team, "Team Murray".

In the other semi-final, Roger Federer will face German 24th seed Tommy Haas.

Tennis fans are dreaming of a Murray v Federer final on Sunday.

If he wins the final he will become the first British man to take the title since Fred Perry in 1936. And Federer is looking to make history of his own with a record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title.