Murray wins in cruise control

Eurosport - Wed, 07 Jan 13:07:00 2009

Andy Murray eased past Spain's Albert Montanes 6-2 6-4 in the first round of the ATP Doha event in Qatar.

2009 ATP Doha Qatar Open Andy Murray - 0

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The world number four has hit a rich vein of form ahead of the Australian Open, having won the Abu Dhabi title last week, and never looked in danger of losing his first-round match to Montanes as he looks to defend the Qatar Open crown he won in 2008.

Murray never hit the heights of the sensational performances he produced to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the weekend, but exerted complete control over the 28-year-old Montanes in tricky, breezy conditions.

After losing the first game following four deuces, Murray won five straight games to seize control of the opening set.

Nevertheless, his movement looked somewhat laboured and the wind contributed to three double faults. The Scot eventually clinched the first set after staving off four break points in a scrappy final game.

Murray gradually hit his stride, and raced into a 4-0 second-set lead before Montanes went for broke, playing much more aggressive tennis and hittnig some searing winners.

The Spaniard broke a startled Murray as he won three games in a row, before the Briton regained his composure and served out the match in routine fashion.

Nadal needed just over 45 minutes to win his first round clash against veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

The Spaniard simply outmuscled Santoro, the oldest man in the draw at 37, and posted a 6-0 6-1 opening win.

Federer also cruised through into the second round with a 6-2 6-2 win over Italian Potito Starace.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 1 - 16 of 16

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  1. all u english ar biest come on murry the best ever out­ of britain

    From GARY, on Wed 7 Jan 12:39PM

  2. post 14

    hey idiot nobody makes idiot fans club

    From anu, on Wed 7 Jan 11:42AM

  3. post 13
    I don't see why anybody would want to ask­ you anything you little moronic twit!!

    From Nicholas, on Wed 7 Jan 9:29AM

  4. i hate this guy,dont ask me why.

    From mylyzeseyenga, on Wed 7 Jan 9:22AM

  5. post 11
    Wake up and smell the coffee
    Moronic idiot!!

    From Nicholas, on Wed 7 Jan 9:16AM

  6. let us wait,still murray did not get real taste of­ federer and nadals real game.first he should stop­ overconfidence and should learn how to be humble­ infront of federer and nadal.

    From anu, on Wed 7 Jan 5:52AM

  7. comment 9,Nadal does not know how to "not­ try" lets get things into perspective,he was­ playing Santoro ! a gifted player no doubt,but without­ weapons.On the other hand,Murray is probably the form­ player at the moment,maybe playing the best tennis out­ of any of them.He beat Nadal in an awsome match,in­ which both went full out to win.
    Whereas Nadal can hurt­ Federer with his heavy topspin forehand high to­ Federers backhand,with Murray the same shot runs into­ Murrays strength,his double handed backhand,that he can­ take comfortably at shoulder height,As they say in­ boxing, styles make fights,Nadals style suits­ Murray,and Murray can hurt Nadal off BOTH wings.By the­ way,i am a Federer fan.

    From carlos480bc, on Tue 6 Jan 10:47PM

  8. Webbski, I think you do Nadal a disservice by­ suggesting that he "wasn't trying" last­ week against Murray. Nadal is far too competative for­ that. He tried alright, but he simply wasn't good­ enough. He's never been as big a threat on hard­ courts as he is on clay and even now is no better than­ the 3rd best hard court player in the game.

    From Bobito, on Tue 6 Jan 10:30PM

  9. Post 9 webbski
    Would you be interested in starting an­ Andy Murray fan club?

    From Nicholas, on Tue 6 Jan 9:04PM

  10. If you saw Nadal today, he showed he wasn't trying­ in last weeks exhibition. On this form, Murray would­ be made to look a fool, though he won't play­ Murray as Federer will beat him.

    From webbski, on Tue 6 Jan 7:30PM

  11. I'm not a Murray fan but credit where it is due.­ Well done I wait to see if he can win a grand slam­ event but I hope he does. As a Brit this might­ encourage others to work hard to do the same and give­ British tennis the impetus to move on and become a­ world power.

    From Mervyn, on Tue 6 Jan 6:18PM

  12. well done andy love you doing well .you just keep­ winning smile when you are ready not everyone has a­ silly smile to amouse everyone, we still love you as­ you are,kirsty

    From aok, on Tue 6 Jan 5:03PM

  13. He might even smile if 2009 is a good year!

    From Lloyd, on Tue 6 Jan 3:56PM

  14. 2009 is Murray's year I'm sure. Well done lad!!

    From Jonny Justice, on Tue 6 Jan 3:31PM

  15. SO NO PROBLEM FOR MURRAY AGAIN WILL HE WIN THE TITLE­ WELL I THINK HE CAN. CAN HE WIN THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN HE­ HAS A GREAT CHANCE. I AM NOT A MURRAY FAN BUT HAVE TO­ GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE THINK HE COULD BE ARE NEXT­ NUMBER ONE.
    ALISON.

    From AJ, on Tue 6 Jan 3:30PM

  16. Not the best ive seen him play, He played well enough­ to get through to the next round. With a bit of luck­ will play better Rnd 2

    From Austin H, on Tue 6 Jan 3:29PM
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