The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Murray to take on Ancic in final

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Murray to take on Ancic in final

— Photo: AFP

NO SWEAT: Andy Murray made short work of Paul-Henri Mathieu in the Marseille Open semifinals on Saturday.

MARSEILLE: British No. 1 Andy Murray stormed into the Marseille Open final with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu on Saturday.

World No. 11 Murray, seeded fourth in the indoor event, will face Croatia’s Mario Ancic in Sunday’s final.

Ancic, who dropped out of the top 100 after missing most of last season with glandular fever, knocked out sixth seed Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

After breaking his opponent in the first game and again in the fifth, Murray underlined his determination by winning his last service game of the first set to love.

Almost perfect

Playing close to perfection, Murray captured Mathieu’s serve again in the third game of the second set.

Murray stayed on top with another break in the seventh game and then served for the match, earning three match points with an ace. Mathieu survived the first but netted a backhand on the second to bow out after 62 minutes.

“I played really well,” said Murray, who will play his second final this year after Doha, where he won the title last month.

The other semifinal was tighter at first, both players holding serve until Ancic broke Baghdatis in the ninth game before wrapping up the first set on his service game.

Ancic, a losing finalist in Marseille in 2006, stepped up a gear in the second set, relying on booming serves to cruise to victory.

Henin rallies

At Antwerp, World No. 1 Justine Henin recovered from an early scare to beat qualifier Timea Bacsinszky 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday and reach the final of the Diamond Games.

At Delray Beach, top-seeded James Blake powered into the semifinals of the $411,000 ATP tournament here on Friday, but Japanese qualifier Kei Nishikori made sure the final four wasn’t an all-American affair. Blake, 28, cruised past Russian Igor Kunitzyn 6-2, 6-4 to book a meeting with fellow American Robby Ginepri.

Nishikori defeated Bobby Reynolds 6-2, 6-4 to reach his first career ATP semifinal in only his sixth career tournament.

The results (quarterfinals):

At Delray Beach (USA): ATP Delray Beach International: James Blake bt Igor Kunitsyn 6-2, 6-4; Robby Ginepri bt Mardy Fish 6-1, 4-6, 6-4; Sam Querrey bt Vince Spadea 6-2, 6-4; Kei Nishikori bt Bobby Reynolds 6-2, 6-4.

At Costa do Sauipe (Brazil): ATP Brasil Open: Fabio Fognini bt Ivo Minar 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3; Nicolas Almagro bt Filippo Volandri 7-5, 2-6, 6-1; Nicolas Lapentti bt Eduardo Schwank 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(4); Carlos Moya bt Oscar Hernandez 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

At Marseille: ATP Open 13: Semifinals: Andy Murray bt Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 6-2; Mario Ancic bt Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 6-2. Quarterfinals: Marcos Baghdatis bt Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(2), 6-3; Paul-Henri Mathieu bt Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-4.

At Antwerp: WTA Proximus Diamond Games: Semifinals: Justine Henin bt Timea Bacsinszky 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Quarterfinals: Justine Henin bt Alisa Kleybanova 6-4, 6-3; Li Na bt Sofia Arvidsson 7-5, 6-4.

At Viña del Mar (Chile): WTA Cachantun Cup: Klara Zakopalova bt Lourdes Dominguez Lino 3-6, 7-5, 7-5; Mariya Koryttseva bt Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-3, 7-6(4); Flavia Pennetta bt Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3; Pauline Parmentier bt Martina Muller 7-5, 6-4 . — Agencies

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