Andy Murray stomps over Kei Nishikori to reach the semis – Australian Open 2012
World number four, Andy Murray, halted Kei Nishikori’s impressive run of form by earning a straight sets victory at the Australian Open 2012 on Wednesday. He roared into the semi-finals at this first Grand Slam event taking place in Melbourne, Australia after registering a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory over the 22-year-old Japanese.
Fourth seeded British displayed exceptional skills to crush Nishikori in their second meeting. After bagging victory in this match, Murray not only extended lead in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) head2head series by 2-0 against the Japanese but also secured a spot in the final four at the Melbourne Park.
British number one stormed into the Rod Laver Arena and wiped out the opening three games successively with a break of serve. Later, he held remaining serves through exquisite forehands and clinched the opener with a 6-3 score line.
Murray kept momentum rolling into the following set and earned the desiderated break in the opening game to take the initial lead. Despite losing his serve in the very next game, he broke the Japanese’s serve again in the third game and put his nose ahead once again. The British then swiped in remaining serves after blocking two breakpoints he came across and cashed in another break chance in the last game to seal the set with a 6-3 win.
The 24-year-old carried his rhythm in the last set and earned the critical break in the second game to go 2-0 up. Apart from losing his serve in the third game, the British maintained his intensity and reeled off the last four games in a row, pocketing the breadstick in 29 minutes.
Murray clobbered a lower first serve share but clinched magnificent 28 out of 36 points on it. He also committed fewer unforced errors and smacked 36 winners. As a result, the British capped the set with 104 points as opposed to Nishikori’s 71 points.
A former world number two, Murray stayed on course to grab his first Grand Slam title. He will next confront the winner of the match between world number one, Novak Djokovic, and the fifth seed, David Ferrer. The Serbian number one went on a 42 match unbeaten run last year. His formed dipped in the end of the season but he cruised to clinch the title at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships held in the start of 2012.
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