Magical Murray mauls Monfils
Andy Murray beats Gael Monfils 6-2 6-2 to reach Madrid semi-finals
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Friday, 17, Oct 2008 10:38
A brilliant display of tennis from Andy Murray saw him blow away France's Gael Monfils to reach the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters.
Despite his opponent coming into the match on good form, with excellent wins over the likes of Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez, Monfils was taken apart by the superior tactics and good old-fashioned hard work of the Briton.
A straight-sets win for Murray, 6-2 6-2, fails to tell the tale of a match that saw Monfils throw everything at the world number four - only to see it returned with interest.
After a cagey opening exchange dominated by long, sluggish baseline rallies, which saw the players trading breaks in their respective opening service games, the Frenchman began to adopt an aggressive serve-volley approach.
But this failed to find fault in Murray's game as he pulled Monfils all over the court and broke twice to seal the first set with consummate ease.
Monfils attempted to impose himself from the start of the second set, but Murray's class was beginning to tell and he quickly established another comfortable lead with two more breaks.
A late rally from the Frenchman saw him claw a break back from 1-5 down in the second.
But the Scot found his rhythm again on Monfils' serve, breaking again to seal what was, in the end, a comfortable victory.
In the last-four, Murray will face Roger Federer - the former world number one who was the last man to beat Murray in the US Open final in early September.