ATP Tour - Murray sets up Federer semi-final

Eurosport - Fri, 09 Jan 14:51:00 2009

Andy Murray set up a semi-final meeting with Roger Federer at the ATP Doha tournament in Qatar with a straightforward 6-4 6-2 victory against Sergii Stakhovsky.

TENNIS 2009 ATP Doha Andy Murray - 0

British number one Murray edged an entertaining first set against the Ukrainian, before powering home in the second to book his seventh meeting with Federer as he continues his defence of the Doha title.

Victory was ultimately comfortable for Murray, but Stakhovsky belied his world ranking of 92 in the opening set with an array of superb winners and deft drop shots.

in the seventh game of the opening set, Murray was warned by the umpire for illegal coaching, a ruling that clearly angered the defending champion but appeared to drive him towards his best period in the match.

Murray raced into a 5-0 lead in the second set, and despite a late rally from Stakhovsky barely raced into the last four with an aggressive display.

World number two Federer reached the semi-finals courtesy of a 6-2 7-6 victory against eighth-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

In the other half of the draw, Rafael Nadal's Australian Open preparation hit a stumbling block when he was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Frenchman Gael Monfils.

The world number one had been hoping to get some much needed match practice before the season's opening Grand Slam, which starts on January 19, after being injured during the final stages of the 2008 season.

But his stay in Doha lasted only three matches after he was outclassed by Monfils.

The pair swapped breaks in the opening set before Nadal was broken again in the 10th game to hand Monfils the opening set.

The crucial moment of the second set again came in the 10th game when Monfils broke the Spaniard to clinch the match.

Earlier in the day, Andy Roddick enjoyed a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory against Victor Hanescu of Romania to book his place in the semi-finals.

Will Tidey / Reuters

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  2. I am a sexy tallish girl, I feel lonely. Yesterday I­ joined a club
    --- T a l l h u b Co m ---where I could­ chat with many handsome guys. Come on, join us, find me­ here and discuss love with us.

    From Kendl D, on Fri 9 Jan 1:41PM

  3. With everyone fit, Its 3 majors to Fed, and Nadal wins­ the French. That's how I see it for 2 more years,­ then Fed will retire, and the other 3 majors will be­ hard fought. But, I see Nadal beating Borg's record­ at Roland Garros.

    From webbski, on Fri 9 Jan 1:30PM

  4. stop saying Federer or Murray will win cause the truth­ is that noone can predict who is gonna come on top. im­ a Fedex fan but the 'boy' as someone called him­ is quite impressive and can beat anyone. For certain­ one of the 4 musketeers will be n°1 at the end of the­ year but NOONE can predict who is gonna come on top.­ The only thing that we can say thats gonna be a great­ year of tennis maybe the best ever

    From mauricechlela, on Fri 9 Jan 12:59PM

  5. post 50.i compleately agree with u.u gave wise­ comments.there was bad year for federer thats­ all.otherwise he is the best best player in th­ world.good luck federer show everyone u r power­ again.good luck

    From anu, on Fri 9 Jan 12:34PM

  6. Murray will never be a great. Murray is having the best­ form of his career and he still isn't number 1. If­ he's the best he should have at least got 1 grand­ slam with Nadal playing more than anyone and Federer­ having a bad year. I doubt he will ever be number 1 if­ Del Potro gets to the peak of his career and players­ like Nishikori and Tsonga coming up.

    From barry.shane, on Fri 9 Jan 12:06PM

  7. come on Rodger. beat the boy..

    From Ticha, on Fri 9 Jan 12:05PM

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    a guy who likes­ sports too. Let's mingle at the club ___ kISs M­ ill iona ireS Co m __

    From sexyr332s, on Fri 9 Jan 11:57AM

  9. Fed is winning in 2 straight sets! Murray will play­ very well but not enough to beat the man!!!
    6-4 7-5!­ Contact your bookmaker and bet for this score!

    From Durandinho, on Fri 9 Jan 11:21AM

  10. Club Fed!

    From avanze, on Fri 9 Jan 11:00AM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    murray need to learn about talking in front of a­ reporter or crowd, when he won a match or tournament he­ feels like hes the best or so. If finally he won a­ grand slam he would say: i knocked the opponents down­ to the final and i took the crown..?

    From aus11123, on Fri 9 Jan 11:00AM

  12. comment 41. I presume you mean where.

    From webbski, on Fri 9 Jan 10:52AM

  13. the reporter doenst lie, i was watching on eurosport 2­ and Murray did coaching no fake or what he coahed at­ the right moment at 4-4 when stakovsky was serving for­ 5-4, i bet the coach say the weakness of stakovsky and­ told to murray, and murray didnt saw it...­ hypocritical... he was not happy when he won the­ match... HYPOCRITICAL!

    From aus11123, on Fri 9 Jan 10:42AM

  14. go on Andy son .

    From budgie66, on Fri 9 Jan 10:24AM

  15. poor reporting, Murray was warned in the first set -­ did the reporter see the match?

    From brianronaldthomas, on Fri 9 Jan 10:20AM

  16. were is nadal?hahaha come on roger!

    From bratuclaudiu88, on Fri 9 Jan 10:15AM

  17. By the way murray must win to save his pts because they­ recount all player pts by the new method before they­ apply it

    From ola azmy, on Fri 9 Jan 7:36AM

  18. By the way murray must win to save his pts because they­ recount all player pts by the new method before they­ apply it

    From ola azmy, on Fri 9 Jan 7:34AM

  19. Post 29 i am trying to answer you but it tells me­ alawys invalid comment

    From ola azmy, on Fri 9 Jan 7:31AM

  20. Well done Andy a true blue Scot.

    From Charles, on Fri 9 Jan 7:30AM
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