ATP Tour - Murray crushes Blake in 2009 opener

Eurosport - Fri, 02 Jan 13:28:00 2009

Andy Murray qualified for the semi-finals of the World Tennis Championship exhibition after a 6-2 6-2 win over American James Blake in Abu Dhabi.

TENNIS 2009 Abu Dhabi Andy Murray - 0

He will play world number two Roger Federer in the penultimate stage of the showcase tournament.

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko faces world number one Rafael Nadal in the second semi after he beat American Andy Roddick 6-4 6-4.

It was Roddick's first match under new coach Larry Stefanki.

World number four Murray displayed a stunning array of groundstrokes from the baseline as he dominated Blake, breaking him twice in each set and wrapping up the match in less than an hour.

The Scot, who beat Federer three times in 2008 in four matches, said: "I was playing James for the first time in three years and I expected it to be a tough match, but I played much better than I expected to.

"This is the first match of the year and I am delighted with how I played.

"I am sure I will have a fun match with Roger. I did quite well against him last year, but this is a new season.

"With all the top players here, this is a great preparation for the Australian Open later this month."

Roddick had only one break point against Davydenko in the entire match, which he failed to convert. His normally reliable first serve was also a bit off target, but the American was not too worried about the loss.

"Nikolay played a great game. I could have done better, but this was just my first match of the year. Hopefully, the game will be much better than what it was today," said Roddick.

The knockout tournament is worth 250,000 dollars to the winner on Saturday evening.

AFP

Comment 1 - 16 of 16

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. have to agree with u on that one HT but i would go one­ step further and say nadal will most probably be no1 by­ the end of this new year

    From ralph, on Fri 2 Jan 6:46PM

  2. Thanks!

    From Nicholas, on Fri 2 Jan 11:52AM

  3. it's live on AD sport tv

    From sohrabsepehry, on Fri 2 Jan 11:14AM

  4. does enybody know at what channel can i watch these­ matches?

    From Varnavas P, on Fri 2 Jan 11:01AM

  5. Murray did play very well, and has every chance of­ winning this tournament, but honestly, if you watched­ the way Blake played most of the time, it's no­ surprise Murray thrashed him. on many occasions, he­ didn't even bother running after the ball. but hats­ off to Murray for providing such an entertaining­ display.

    From aleksicn93, on Fri 2 Jan 5:05AM

  6. Ignore Nadal at your peril.
    Dr Webb

    From webbski, on Thu 1 Jan 11:38PM

  7. Murray played really well; the so-called Holy Trinity­ of Tennis Major Winners (Nadal, Federer and Djokovic)­ is surely to become the Amazing Quartet of winners very­ shortly after Murray wins the Australian Open.

    This­ would be great for tennis.

    Dr Vasos Pavlika

    From pavlikv, on Thu 1 Jan 10:26PM

  8. The season's barely started, and the Murray v Nadal­ v Fed v Djo is already starting, lol...

    I doubt the­ ranking will look the way blueangel put it. Nadal has a­ significant advantage in the current field because he­ is so good at clay, the only person who can even touch­ him is Federer, whereas the contest in hardcourts is­ much closer and is contested by the other 3.

    I hate to­ say it (Nadal is not my fav among the 4), but if Nadal­ can dominate clay again and come up with some decent­ results on hard and grass, he might just continue to be­ no. 1

    From HT, on Thu 1 Jan 10:22PM

  9. End of the year will look more lkike­ this:
    1.Federer
    2.Djokovic
    3.Nadal
    4.Murray

    From duci_king, on Thu 1 Jan 10:06PM

  10. man..murray is determinated..but federers game is­ better
    he`s the best of all times
    he can beat­ everyone!
    i hope that davydenko will win against­ nadal
    at the end of the year :
    1.Roger Federer
    2.A.­ Murray
    3.R. Nadal
    4.Djokovic

    From Julie, on Thu 1 Jan 9:22PM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    come on people, james blake is no federer.

    From STEVEN, on Thu 1 Jan 7:48PM

  12. Murray wins Fedex, he is very determined for this­ !
    Davidenko will kick out Nadal, because he is not­ fully fit.

    From Igor K, on Thu 1 Jan 6:47PM

  13. I wouldn't bet against Murray beating Federer­ tomorrow either ... not from what I witnessed today.

    From plumpot77, on Thu 1 Jan 6:26PM

  14. Murray will win the tournament.

    From justinbowie1, on Thu 1 Jan 5:31PM

  15. i saw the match n if he plays like it 2moro, federer­ will have his work seriously cutout. murray was playn­ like d season is 5 mths old-firing winners especially­ 4rm his backhand side n a lot of variety. in a word -­ sublime

    From habeeb a, on Thu 1 Jan 4:33PM

  16. i do't know this guy but every time i see him on tv­ he seems a right miserable git. chill out man!

    From STEVEN, on Thu 1 Jan 2:23PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account