SINCE John McEnroe became aware of Andy Murray’s potential, he has viewed the young Scot as a kindred spirit. A petulant but resolute performance to take the teenager through to San Jose’s SAP Open semi-finals reinforced that belief.

Murray and McEnroe practise together intermittently and both are competing in the event; McEnroe, making a one-off return to the main Tour, combined with Jonas Bjorkman to beat Ashley Fisher and Tripp Phillips 6-1 7-5 in the doubles, while Murray overcame Robin Soderling in three tough sets to set up a confrontation with top seed Andy Roddick. If Murray can get past the American, he will play Lleyton Hewitt in the final after the Australian beat Vince Spadea 6-3 6-4.

Soderling complained to umpire Norm Chryst about Murray’s behaviour during the 4-6 7-5 6-4 encounter. The British No 3 threw his racket four times and earned a code violation warning, but contrition is not one of his strengths: “I was trying to get myself going because I started the match so sloppy. It obviously worked. You don’t want to be unpopular on Tour, but when you are on the court you have to do what you have to do to win.”

McEnroe looked on knowingly. “Is there a changing of the guard in British tennis? I think there is,” he said. “A lot of time there is hype and people talking about players when deep down they know it’s not going to happen, but this time you have a guy that is really capable of being a great player.

“He has a way of keeping you off balance, he has a feel for the game and he’s playing with the most confidence he has ever had.

“The issue with him is probably more physical than mental. Mentally he’s proven to be a pretty tough customer . . . he doesn’t seem to need a whole lot of help.

“He plays hard, he shows a lot of emotion. He’s a breath of fresh air.”