Britain sets up clash with Spain
Source: Agencies |
January 9, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ANDY Murray swept Igor Andreev 6-1, 6-0 as Britain beat Russia 2-1 yesterday to claim a spot in the final of the Hopman Cup mixed teams tennis event for the first time.
Elena Dementieva gave Russia a 1-0 lead when she beat 15-year-old Laura Robson 6-4, 6-0, but Murray made it 1-1 with his singles win and then teamed with Robson to beat Andreev and Dementieva 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (6) in an exciting mixed doubles climax in Perth, Australia.
Murray has spent less than three hours on court in his three singles wins here in the Hopman Cup and told media he was feeling confident ahead of the Australian Open, the first major of the season which starts on January 18.
"If I can play like that then I can win Australia for sure," Murray was quoted as saying. "But I need to make sure I do it in a couple of weeks and play like that from the start of the tournament until the end."
Murray is skipping the tournament in Doha, Qatar, this year after winning the title there in the previous two years. He's hoping his change in preparation will help net him his first major title.
"I've always started the years pretty well. I've won Doha two years in a row so I always started playing pretty well going into Australia," he said. "In terms of the way I was striking the ball and moving and playing well up at the net and taking chances, that was probably the best I've played at the start of a year.
"Sometimes you play two, three matches like that a year and fortunately one of them was today. Hopefully I've got a couple more in the Aussie Open."
The British pair had to win to earn the right to face Spain, which clinched its place in the final with a win over hosts and top-seeded Australia on Thursday in the other group.
Murray set the tone for the encounter with a comprehensive win over Andreev in just 48 minutes, and contributed vital points throughout the doubles to ensure Britain won. Kazakhstan beat Germany 2-0 in the other group B match.
Elena Dementieva gave Russia a 1-0 lead when she beat 15-year-old Laura Robson 6-4, 6-0, but Murray made it 1-1 with his singles win and then teamed with Robson to beat Andreev and Dementieva 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (6) in an exciting mixed doubles climax in Perth, Australia.
Murray has spent less than three hours on court in his three singles wins here in the Hopman Cup and told media he was feeling confident ahead of the Australian Open, the first major of the season which starts on January 18.
"If I can play like that then I can win Australia for sure," Murray was quoted as saying. "But I need to make sure I do it in a couple of weeks and play like that from the start of the tournament until the end."
Murray is skipping the tournament in Doha, Qatar, this year after winning the title there in the previous two years. He's hoping his change in preparation will help net him his first major title.
"I've always started the years pretty well. I've won Doha two years in a row so I always started playing pretty well going into Australia," he said. "In terms of the way I was striking the ball and moving and playing well up at the net and taking chances, that was probably the best I've played at the start of a year.
"Sometimes you play two, three matches like that a year and fortunately one of them was today. Hopefully I've got a couple more in the Aussie Open."
The British pair had to win to earn the right to face Spain, which clinched its place in the final with a win over hosts and top-seeded Australia on Thursday in the other group.
Murray set the tone for the encounter with a comprehensive win over Andreev in just 48 minutes, and contributed vital points throughout the doubles to ensure Britain won. Kazakhstan beat Germany 2-0 in the other group B match.
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