ATP World Tour No. 4 Andy Murray reached his second straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final after battling past sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Friday night.
Despite the loss, del Potro is certain to rise to a career-high No. 5 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings on Monday.
The 21-year-old Murray has now advanced to the finals of four of the past five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournaments. He captured his first two titles at Cincinnati (d. Djokovic) and Madrid (d. Simon) last year and finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells two weeks ago.
The Briton is through to the Sony Ericsson Open final for the first time after falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic at the semi-final stage in 2007, when he suffered a humiliating 6-1, 6-0 defeat. He will face the Serb for the seventh time in the final on Sunday after the World No. 3 ousted two-time former champion Roger Federer 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in windy conditions earlier on Friday.
Djokovic takes a 4-2 career lead into Sunday’s final, but Murray won their two most recent clashes in straight sets in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Toronto quarterfinals and the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati final last year.
“I think if both of us play well, it'll be a great match,” said Murray. “I'm sure he feels the same way. I know I'll have to play well if I want to beat him. The last couple of times I played I sort of figured out a way to play against him; whereas before I struggled a little bit. I feel confident, and I've had a really good run so far this year. Not going to put any extra pressure on myself for the match on Sunday. It's going to be a good match.”
Murray silenced a largely pro-del Potro crowd early in Friday evening’s clash as he broke to lead 2-0 with a rifling backhand down-the-line forcing the error from the Argentine. As del Potro struggled to find a way past Murray, more great defense earned the Scot a second break of serve as a frustrated del Potro netted a volley. Murray’s ability to mix up the play, keeping del Potro on his toes, and great retrieval in every point earned him the first set 6-1 as del Potro netted a backhand.
Del Potro’s attacking play was more effective at the beginning of the second set and, with Murray unable to get a foothold in points, he held for an early 1-0 lead. He then turned the tables on Murray as a loose game from the fourth seed saw him double fault twice to surrender his serve and trail 0-2. However, del Potro’s advantage was short-lived as a double fault from the Argentine handed Murray a 15/40 advantage and the Scot broke back as more impressive defense paid off and del Potro was forced into error. The Argentine was not deterred though and troubled Murray with a much improved serving performance. His effort was rewarded in the 12th game as a backhand pass landed at Murray’s feet at 0-40 and saw del Potro level the match.
In scenes reminiscent of the first set, Murray’s trickery and retrieval skills frustrated del Potro early in the third set, and the Scot earned an early break of serve to lead 3-2 as the Tandil native netted a volley. Murray then broke again in a lengthy seventh game – during which del Potro suffered with cramp - to lead 5-2 before closing out victory after two hours and 17 minutes with a pin-point accurate backhand winner flush on the baseline.
“I mean, I had to fight hard in the end,” said Murray. “I played a great first set. I'm sure it's easy to say that I dropped my level a little bit, but I was playing great tennis in the first set. He served really well in that (second) set and put pressure on my service games. In the third I managed to fight back and played well again. I'm feeling good and I'm hitting the ball well, and I'll try and do the same thing in the final.”
Murray is chasing his third ATP World Tour title of the season and the 11th of his career after already triumphing at Doha (d. Federer in SF, d. Roddick in F) and Rotterdam (d. Nadal). The only blemish on the Scot’s record in 2009 - aside from his Indian Wells loss - was a fourth-round defeat to eventual semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco at the Australian Open. The Dunblane native avenged that loss on Thursday evening with a crushing 6-1, 6-2 victory over the Spaniard in the Sony Ericsson Open quarter-finals.
The 20-year-old del Potro was contesting his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final after having defeated World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in a three-hour quarter-final match on Thursday. His efforts at the Sony Ericsson Open will see the right-hander rise to a career-high No. 5 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings on Monday, making him the fourth player aged 22 or younger to reach the elite Top 5.
“[I was] so tired,” said del Potro, reflecting on the match. “Last night I was with the [Nadal] match in my mind. I cannot sleep very well. Today I run a lot again, and I don't feel good with my physical. But I feel happy. I feel confidence with my game and I did a great tournament, so I go home with a good week.”
Talking about his rankings rise, the ambitious del Potro commented: “It's good for me, for my future. But I don't want to be No. 5, I want to be better.”
The top South American, who enjoyed raucous support during his run in Miami, dropped to a 19-5 match record on the season. He has reached the quarter-finals or better in all six tournaments he has played this season, highlighted by winning his fifth ATP World Tour title in Auckland (d. Querrey) at the start of the season and reaching his second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open (l. to Federer).
(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_2921.ASP)
