Murray Sets Up Davydenko Quarter-final at Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
Dubai, UAE, March 5th, 2008: Andy Murray didn’t face a break point as he beat Roger Federer in the first round of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, but that did not necessarily mean that he would have an easy ride against Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco. And he didn’t, needing two hours 24-minutes to edge through to the quarter-finals. His 6-3 3-6 7-6 win set up a clash with Russian fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko, who beat Czech Jan Hernych 6-1 6-4.
The unseeded Scot looked a little slow in the early part of the match, and he faced the first break point at 2-2. He held off that threat, broke for 4-2 when his opponent double-faulted, but still needed to survive two more break points before clinching the set.
Verdasco played aggressively and came to the net early in the second set, and his tactic paid off as he built a 3-0 lead. And, although Murray broke back in the seventh game, Verdasco immediately reclaimed the advantage with another break.
Fortunes in the final set also fluctuated, with Murray saving two break points before breaking to lead 4-2. That still wasn’t enough to end Verdasco’s challenge, as the Spaniard immediately broke back and then held another break point to lead 6-5.
But he netted a volley, and Murray was the dominant force in the tiebreak, sweeping to a 6-2 lead before closing out the match on his fourth match point.
“It wasn’t the best match I’ve played, but it was pretty rough conditions out there,” said Murray. “It was really windy and I didn’t hit the ball clear at all. I think it’s the first leftie I’ve played all year and it takes a little while to get used to their spins and the way the serve’s moving. So I definitely struggled today, but I’m really happy with the way that I fought to win a match like that.”
The final point involved a very long rally, which saw Murray bide his time and wait for an error from his opponent.
“It was a pretty ugly point, actually,” said Murray. “I was just making sure I kept the ball in play, because I think he’s the sort of guy if you can make a lot of balls against him, keep him in the back of the court, he can get a bit impatient, and luckily he missed one at the end.”
One Spaniard lost, but three others won.
Second seed and 2006 champion Rafael Nadal had difficulty breaking the resistance of Russian qualifier, 171st-ranked Mikhail Ledovskikh, but broke in the ninth game and served out the set. From then on the Russian made a succession of errors and Nadal was able to claim the match 6-4 6-0.
Fourth seed David Ferrer dropped the first set against Belgian Olivier Rochus but recovered to win 3-6 7-5 6-1, and unseeded Feliciano Lopez was another winner, upsetting eighth seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-2 7-5.
Novak Djokovic was another winner, but he had difficulty getting out of the match against French veteran Fabrice Santoro in straight sets. In the end he won 6-3 7-6, but Santoro held a point to lead 4-1 in the second set, and two break points to lead the set 5-3.
“I think I started losing my hair in the second set, from the tightness and nervousness,” said Djokovic. “In the second set it could go either way. I started playing less aggressive and making some unforced errors, but in the end I’m happy to get through.
“But it was okay to play such a magician with the racquet. He’s a very special player and for me it was an honour to play against him. We did play in Bercy (Paris) last year but I was knocked out of the court in less than an hour, and I wanted to do better this time.”
American Andy Roddick kept on rolling, this time beating Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3 6-4 to set up a clash with Nadal. In the remaining matches, fifth seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko defeated Czech Jan Hernych 6-1 6-4, and Russian Igor Andreev upset seventh seed Richard Gasquet of France 6-3 6-4.
