Superb Murray Crushes Johansson
Tennis: Andy Murray cruises into the semi-finals of the Qatar Open with a 7-6, 6-0 win over Thomas Johansson
Andy Murray took another step towards the third ATP singles title of his career, beating Sweden's Thomas Johansson 7-6, 6-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Qatar Open.
Murray, the world No11 and seeded third for the tournament, will face Nikolay Davydenko or Dmitry Tursunov in the last four after battling through a tough first set against the former world No7 and then turning on the style in the second.
Murray put in a Jekyll and Hyde performance against Rainer Schuttler in the previous round, but was far more consistent against Johansson. The first set, though, went with serve. In the tie-break Murray struck early by winning the first point off his opponent's serve and from there on was never behind, eventually winning 7-4.
That seemed to give him the impetus he needed and Murray closed out the match in a further 21 minutes as Johansson collapsed. Murray broke his opponent in the second game of the second set to take the advantage, and then rattled of the following four games to take the second set in convincing fashion, 6-0.
The Scot is looking to reach his second successive final in Doha having been runner-up to Ivan Ljubicic 12 months ago.
Murray, the world No11 and seeded third for the tournament, will face Nikolay Davydenko or Dmitry Tursunov in the last four after battling through a tough first set against the former world No7 and then turning on the style in the second.
Murray put in a Jekyll and Hyde performance against Rainer Schuttler in the previous round, but was far more consistent against Johansson. The first set, though, went with serve. In the tie-break Murray struck early by winning the first point off his opponent's serve and from there on was never behind, eventually winning 7-4.
That seemed to give him the impetus he needed and Murray closed out the match in a further 21 minutes as Johansson collapsed. Murray broke his opponent in the second game of the second set to take the advantage, and then rattled of the following four games to take the second set in convincing fashion, 6-0.
The Scot is looking to reach his second successive final in Doha having been runner-up to Ivan Ljubicic 12 months ago.
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