Andy Murray halts Novak Djokovic to reach the final – Dubai Duty free Tennis Championships 2012
Third seeded Andy Murray shocked the world number one, Novak Djokovic, in straight sets at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2012 on Friday. He nudged up a 6-2, 7-5 success against the Serbian tennis ace to book a spot in the title-round at this hard
court tournament taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
British number one, Murray, showed top notch performance to end the winning run of Djokovic at The Aviation Club. He broke the Serbian number one’s serve four times to not only advance into the final showdown but also lowered the trail in their FedEx ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 5-7. The tennis stars previously met each other in the semi-finals at the Australian Open this season where Djokovic outmuscled the Scott in a five set nail-biter.
The Scot was quoted in a post-match conference, “a win like tonight will do that no harm; therefore, mentally I'm sure I'll be stronger."
The world number four high spiritedly entered the opening set and after keeping his first serve, he took the initial lead. The scores were levelled at 2-2 when Murray lifted his game and stroke out the following four games in a row to pocket the opener with
a 6-2 win.
Murray broke the Serb’s serve in the second game and leaped to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Apart from losing his edge in the ninth game, the Scot remained focused and cashed in his second break opportunity in the last game, subsequently clinching the set
with a 7-5 score line.
The top seed on the other side of net coughed fewer errors and impressively marked 23 out of 34 points on his first serve share. However, he capitalised on one out of three break chances and eventually endured the loss.
"Andy played a great match," said the Serbian star after the match. "He was the better player today. He was serving really well. I made a lot of unforced errors when it was important. It's been a great tournament here in Dubai. Look forward to Indian Wells,
Miami, which are the next tournaments, next challenges. I think I have more than enough time to get ready for it."
The 24-year-old will next confront the 16-time Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer, in the final showdown. The Scot lost to Federer in their last battle at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals two years ago but leads the head-to-head series by 8-6.
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