Murray drubs Roddick to reach final
Source: Agencies |
June 12, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
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ANDY Murray of Britain overwhelmed Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-1 to reach the final of the Queen's Club championship in London yesterday.
The second seeded Scot, who won the title in 2009, produced a fine all-round display against an error-prone opponent to win their semifinal in just 59 minutes.
Murray served 13 aces and ensured the third-seeded American failed in his attempt to become the first player to win five titles at the pre-Wimbledon tournament.
In the second semifinal wildcard James Ward, the world No. 216, will try to set up an all-British final today when he battles fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
"It was just one of those days," Murray said. "I hardly missed a ball and that doesn't happen too often on tour. Everything that touched my racquet was going in and it felt great out there.
"I got off to a good start. Andy's one of the toughest guys on the tour to break, and I managed to get up an early break in both sets, which helped."
Murray broke for a 2-0 lead when Roddick netted a backhand slice, and that was enough to decide the outcome of the opening set.
Roddick was then broken at the start of the second set when he netted a forehand volley, and another error at net gave Murray a further break and a commanding 4-1 lead. Murray closed out the match with a fourth break when Roddick netted a weak backhand.
On Friday, Rafael Nadal's batteries finally ran flat as the weary world No. 1 bowed out to Tsonga in the quarterfinals.
The Spaniard, preparing to defend his Wimbledon title this month, went down 7-6 (3), 4-6, 1-6 when the exertions of winning a record-equalling sixth French Open crown last Sunday caught up with him.
Minutes after walking off court, he confirmed he would head home to Mallorca for some golf and fishing before returning with "high motivation" to Wimbledon.
"Probably after losing the second set mentally I lost my concentration," the 25-year-old said. "The negative thing is I lost; the positive thing is I have few days off and can stop a little bit mentally. I can be a little bit more relaxed, because every day I play with pressure."
Straight sets
In Halle, Germany, unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber upset third-seeded Gael Monfils of France in straight sets yesterday to reach the final of the Gerry Weber Open.
Kohlschreiber, ranked 49th, returned to the Halle final for the first time since losing to Roger Federer in 2008 by cruising past Monfils 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour 17 minutes.
Monfils, ranked a career-high No. 8 coming into the tournament, had not dropped a single set at the Wimbledon warmup event before running into Kohlschreiber.
In today's final, Kohlschreiber will take on either 2007 Gerry Weber champion Tomas Berdych or fellow unseeded German Philipp Petzschner.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams will face Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova in her first match for almost a year this week at Eastbourne, England, following the draw made yesterday.
The former world No. 1, who claimed the last of her 13 grand slam titles at last year's Wimbledon, has not played a match since badly cutting her foot on glass last July and then suffering a series of health problems.
The 29-year-old American, who needed emergency treatment for blood clots on her lungs in February, ended speculation about her participation at Wimbledon this week when she was granted a wildcard to play in the Eastbourne warm-up event.
Currently 25th in the rankings, she has not played in the event on the south coast since 1998 when she reached the quarterfinals as a teenager, losing to Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Neither her, nor sister Venus, who is also making her comeback from a long injury layoff, are seeded at Eastbourne.
If she overcomes 33rd-ranked Pironkova, Serena faces a possible second-round against top seed Vera Zvonareva who she beat to win her fourth Wimbledon singles crown last July.
Venus, out since the Australian Open, has drawn German eighth seed Andrea Petkovic - the last opponent she faced on the tour in Melbourne in January.
The second seeded Scot, who won the title in 2009, produced a fine all-round display against an error-prone opponent to win their semifinal in just 59 minutes.
Murray served 13 aces and ensured the third-seeded American failed in his attempt to become the first player to win five titles at the pre-Wimbledon tournament.
In the second semifinal wildcard James Ward, the world No. 216, will try to set up an all-British final today when he battles fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
"It was just one of those days," Murray said. "I hardly missed a ball and that doesn't happen too often on tour. Everything that touched my racquet was going in and it felt great out there.
"I got off to a good start. Andy's one of the toughest guys on the tour to break, and I managed to get up an early break in both sets, which helped."
Murray broke for a 2-0 lead when Roddick netted a backhand slice, and that was enough to decide the outcome of the opening set.
Roddick was then broken at the start of the second set when he netted a forehand volley, and another error at net gave Murray a further break and a commanding 4-1 lead. Murray closed out the match with a fourth break when Roddick netted a weak backhand.
On Friday, Rafael Nadal's batteries finally ran flat as the weary world No. 1 bowed out to Tsonga in the quarterfinals.
The Spaniard, preparing to defend his Wimbledon title this month, went down 7-6 (3), 4-6, 1-6 when the exertions of winning a record-equalling sixth French Open crown last Sunday caught up with him.
Minutes after walking off court, he confirmed he would head home to Mallorca for some golf and fishing before returning with "high motivation" to Wimbledon.
"Probably after losing the second set mentally I lost my concentration," the 25-year-old said. "The negative thing is I lost; the positive thing is I have few days off and can stop a little bit mentally. I can be a little bit more relaxed, because every day I play with pressure."
Straight sets
In Halle, Germany, unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber upset third-seeded Gael Monfils of France in straight sets yesterday to reach the final of the Gerry Weber Open.
Kohlschreiber, ranked 49th, returned to the Halle final for the first time since losing to Roger Federer in 2008 by cruising past Monfils 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour 17 minutes.
Monfils, ranked a career-high No. 8 coming into the tournament, had not dropped a single set at the Wimbledon warmup event before running into Kohlschreiber.
In today's final, Kohlschreiber will take on either 2007 Gerry Weber champion Tomas Berdych or fellow unseeded German Philipp Petzschner.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams will face Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova in her first match for almost a year this week at Eastbourne, England, following the draw made yesterday.
The former world No. 1, who claimed the last of her 13 grand slam titles at last year's Wimbledon, has not played a match since badly cutting her foot on glass last July and then suffering a series of health problems.
The 29-year-old American, who needed emergency treatment for blood clots on her lungs in February, ended speculation about her participation at Wimbledon this week when she was granted a wildcard to play in the Eastbourne warm-up event.
Currently 25th in the rankings, she has not played in the event on the south coast since 1998 when she reached the quarterfinals as a teenager, losing to Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Neither her, nor sister Venus, who is also making her comeback from a long injury layoff, are seeded at Eastbourne.
If she overcomes 33rd-ranked Pironkova, Serena faces a possible second-round against top seed Vera Zvonareva who she beat to win her fourth Wimbledon singles crown last July.
Venus, out since the Australian Open, has drawn German eighth seed Andrea Petkovic - the last opponent she faced on the tour in Melbourne in January.
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