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ATP - MURRAY TOO STRONG ONCE MORE
Roger unfortunately was not able to stop Andy Murray, losing the semifinal of the Qatar Open 7-6 (6), 2-6, 2-6. Murray's career record against Roger now is 5-2 in tour matches.
"It is disappointing to lose after the first set when things were going my way," Roger said. "I just couldn't give the knockout punch. But it is not a big thing. Andy is a tough player against me. I hope when big matches come, I beat him."
Our champ committed four double faults and had 37 unforced errors, the same number as his winners. In the first set, Roger raced to a 4-1 lead as he dominated Murray from the baseline with his backhand. The Scot then took advantage of a few unforced errors to pull even at 5-5. Roger, the 2005 and 2006 winner in Qatar, fought back to fend off a set point, and served out the set with an ace and a forehand winner, clenching his fist.
Roger's level of play dropped in the second set, as he made seven unforced errors against Murray’s three. A double service break handed the Scot the second set 6-2, as he took advantage of two double faults in one service game. In the final set, Murray was leading 2-1 when he stopped to get treatment on his lower back from the tournament trainer after showing pain after hitting a serve. Roger, who is one major short of tying Pete Sampras’s record 14 Grand Slam victories, had his serve broken in the next game as the Scot consistently attacked his backhand; then going on to win the match.
Next up is the AAMI Classic in Kooyong, the last preparation for the Australian Open starting on January 19th.
World No. 4 Andy Murray rallied to defeat No. 2 Roger Federer 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-2 on Friday to reach the final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, an ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament.
"It was a very tough match, I relaxed a bit after I got the break in the second set," said Murray, who is now 5-2 lifetime against Federer. "It is great to have such a great record against Federer. He's arguably the best player in the history of tennis."
It is Murray's third successive victory on the ATP World Tour over Federer, having defeated the Swiss at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid and Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai.
After losing the first set in a tie-break, Murray rebounded to break Federer twice in the second and third sets. The Scot never lost serve in the 2:05 match while converting four of six break point chances. Murray won 86% of first serve points compared to Federer's 69%.
"It will be very difficult against Andy in the final," said Murray, who is 5-2 lifetime against Roddick. "He serves big and I will have to return well. But I played well against him the last few times we met."
Federer, who came into the semifinals with a 15-1 career record in Doha, winning titles in 2005-06, said, "It is disappointing to lose after winning the first set and also because I had played well in the first three rounds."
ATP - NEXT UP: ANDY MURRAY
Roger has reached the semifinals in Doha after defeating eighth-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 7-6 (6). The world's number one, Rafael Nadal, has dropped out of the tournament.
Roger even had a 4-1 lead in the second set when his opponent raised his level remarkably, taking the set to a tie-break. It was the first time in their third encounter that Kohlschreiber was able to do so. But Roger faced the three set-points successfully and managed to take home the set and match after a fantastic forehand winner. It was his 15th victory in his 16th match in Qatar.
Roger's semifinal opponent on Friday will be the surging Murray, who handled Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4, 6-2 in today's nightcap. The third-seeded Murray is the reigning Doha champ, having beaten Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in last year's finale . Roger captured the Doha event back-to-back in 2005 and 2006.
World No. 2 Roger Federer came through a testing encounter with German Philipp Kohlschreiber to prevail 6-2, 7-6(6) and reach the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha on Thursday.
In a high-quality clash, Kohlschreiber had three chances in the tie-break to extend the match to a third set but Federer reeled off five straight points from a 3-6 deficit to improve to a 3-0 career lead over the German.
"It's good to have a tough match, a tight tiebreak to test your game in the important moments," said Federer. "You cannot do it in practice."
The 27-year-old Federer has a 15-1 event record in Doha, having won back-to-back titles in 2005 (d. Ljubicic) and 2006 (d. Monfils); his only loss came in the quarter-finals on his event debut in 2003 (l. to Gambill).
ATP - ROGER EASES INTO QUARTERS
Roger booked his place in the quarters with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Italian Andreas Seppi. Our star was not always at his best and was broken once but still came through unscathed in 1 hour 19 minutes.
"I hit five times as many balls in this match as in the last one, which is good for me at this stage", Roger said. "I'm satisfied with my level at the moment. To a degree I know where my game is but as the tournament progresses you get tougher opponents and you tend to play as well as your opponent."
Roger will next meet eighth-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Belgian Kristof Vliegen. Roger has won the two matches against world no. 28 Kohlschreiber.
ATP - IMPRESSIVE START
Roger eased past Potito Starace of Italy with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win. "It's good to start the year with a win. The conditions were tough. It was cold and windy. For your first match you always feel the nerves. You're always careful when you start playing points. But I practiced enough, giving myself enough opportunity for matchplay", Roger said.
He added: "It's good to play a tournament with similar court and similar balls as the Australian Open. It's better and easier for everyone, because we don't have to make further adjustments before Melbourne. If it was just a bit warmer, it would be just perfect. I'm excited about this month. It's a big one, and hopefully it will give me momentum for the rest of the season."
Roger will next meet Andreas Seppy of Italy. The Italian beat Denis Gremelmayr of Germany in two sets.
ATP - CAN ROGER MAKE IT THREE?
Roger will open the official 2009 season at the Qatar Open. Our star has won the title in Doha twice, in 2005 and 2006. This year, he will face Potito Starace of Italy in the first round and could meet Andy Murray in the semifinals. Roger is 3-0 against the Italian.
It's going to be an interesting week for Roger. With Djokovic’s triumph at the Masters Cup, the Serb is just 10 points shy of our champ. Djokovic would be able to take the #2 ranking from Roger by doing better in Brisbane than Roger does in Doha. Roger can definitively secure his #2 rank by winning the tournament. Roger is 11-0 against all possible opponents before the Murray clash.
OFF COURT - ROGER AND RAFA LAUNCH ATP WORLD TOUR
Roger and Rafa helped launch the 2009 ATP World Tour in spectacular fashion on Sunday with a unique game of tennis aboard a traditional Arabian Dhow in Doha Bay.
On a specially designed onboard court floating in the Persian Gulf, the special match, between the world's two best players, also marked the start of the year-long race to crown the official 2009 ATP World Tour Champion. It was the pair's first meeting since the Wimbledon final in July last year.
Rafa and Roger are the top two seeds at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2009 played in Doha from January 5-10.
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