Murray takes on Ferrer in final
Source: Agencies |
October 16, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
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ANDY Murray pummelled Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-0 to reach the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters yesterday and will complete a stunning Asian hat-trick if he beats David Ferrer today.
Nishikori, playing in his first Masters Series semifinal, lacked the firepower to trouble the British world No. 4 who continued his charge through the Asian swing which brought him back-to-back titles in Bangkok and Tokyo.
Earlier at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center in suburban Minhang District, world No. 5 Ferrer beat fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3 - coming from a set behind for the third day running.
Murray was cool and composed in his demolition of unseeded Nishikori, taking complete command after breaking serve in the third game of the 56-minute encounter under the night sky.
Should he beat Ferrer today, Murray will climb to third in the ATP rankings, pushing 16-time grand slam champion Roger Federer of Switzerland down into fourth spot.
Despite the defeat, the 21-year-old Nishikori has had the best week of his career, defeating two Top-20 players - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine - and improving his current ranking of 47th to around 32 tomorrow, the highest ranking ever for a Japanese player on the ATP tour.
Ferrer is proving himself the king of the comebacks this week and he was at it again yesterday against Lopez.
The tenacious baseliner struggled to come to terms with the attacking Lopez in the opening set although he did squander a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak.
However, he began to grind down his 30-year-old opponent and after leveling the match he made the decisive break in the third set when Lopez made a costly error when serving at 3-4.
"Maybe today I played the best match of this week," Ferrer, who was beaten by Murray in the Tokyo semifinals last week, told reporters. "When I lost the first set, I tried to forget the tie-break and I tried to focus again. I played better in the second and the third."
Ferrer said he would need to go up another level to get the better of Murray and win his first Masters Series title.
"Andy is playing amazing," said the world No. 5. "I know every week is different. But tomorrow I need to improve my game to win against Andy. He's a top player, and I need to play my best tennis."
The fourth-ranked Murray, the defending champion, has won 24 of his last 25 matches and has barely been tested this week. He received a bye in the first round, a walkover in the second and easily beat a 124th-ranked qualifier in the quarterfinals. The Scot dropped one set to the only seeded player he's faced, No. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.
Ferrer, meanwhile, had to save three match points in his third-round win over compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero and edged by American Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals in a third-set tiebreaker.
He had a tough time with Lopez, too. Although Lopez is ranked 23 spots below Ferrer, he had a 6-1 record against his countryman on hardcourts coming into the match and had eliminated three seeded players in straight sets to reach the semifinals.
"I know the record with him, it was bad, no? But I tried to refocus on my game," Ferrer said. "I had confidence with me, with my game."
Nishikori, playing in his first Masters Series semifinal, lacked the firepower to trouble the British world No. 4 who continued his charge through the Asian swing which brought him back-to-back titles in Bangkok and Tokyo.
Earlier at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center in suburban Minhang District, world No. 5 Ferrer beat fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3 - coming from a set behind for the third day running.
Murray was cool and composed in his demolition of unseeded Nishikori, taking complete command after breaking serve in the third game of the 56-minute encounter under the night sky.
Should he beat Ferrer today, Murray will climb to third in the ATP rankings, pushing 16-time grand slam champion Roger Federer of Switzerland down into fourth spot.
Despite the defeat, the 21-year-old Nishikori has had the best week of his career, defeating two Top-20 players - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine - and improving his current ranking of 47th to around 32 tomorrow, the highest ranking ever for a Japanese player on the ATP tour.
Ferrer is proving himself the king of the comebacks this week and he was at it again yesterday against Lopez.
The tenacious baseliner struggled to come to terms with the attacking Lopez in the opening set although he did squander a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak.
However, he began to grind down his 30-year-old opponent and after leveling the match he made the decisive break in the third set when Lopez made a costly error when serving at 3-4.
"Maybe today I played the best match of this week," Ferrer, who was beaten by Murray in the Tokyo semifinals last week, told reporters. "When I lost the first set, I tried to forget the tie-break and I tried to focus again. I played better in the second and the third."
Ferrer said he would need to go up another level to get the better of Murray and win his first Masters Series title.
"Andy is playing amazing," said the world No. 5. "I know every week is different. But tomorrow I need to improve my game to win against Andy. He's a top player, and I need to play my best tennis."
The fourth-ranked Murray, the defending champion, has won 24 of his last 25 matches and has barely been tested this week. He received a bye in the first round, a walkover in the second and easily beat a 124th-ranked qualifier in the quarterfinals. The Scot dropped one set to the only seeded player he's faced, No. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.
Ferrer, meanwhile, had to save three match points in his third-round win over compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero and edged by American Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals in a third-set tiebreaker.
He had a tough time with Lopez, too. Although Lopez is ranked 23 spots below Ferrer, he had a 6-1 record against his countryman on hardcourts coming into the match and had eliminated three seeded players in straight sets to reach the semifinals.
"I know the record with him, it was bad, no? But I tried to refocus on my game," Ferrer said. "I had confidence with me, with my game."
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