Fed ups game to beat Murray
Roger Federer too strong for Andy Murray
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Saturday, 22, Aug 2009 09:04
By James Christie
Roger Federer secured a rare victory against bogey opponent Andy Murray in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters.
Murray enjoyed a 6-2 career record against the Swiss master going into the game having won their last four encounters but had to relinquish his Cincinnati title after a 6-2, 7-6 defeat.
The Scot dropped serve as early as the fourth game and a combination of 15 unforced errors and some dazzling play from Federer saw him concede the first set cheaply.
He somehow cut his hand as the game stayed on serve throughout the second set and Federer metaphorically bloodied his nose with some aggressive net play throughout the match.
Murray recovered from a mini-break down in the tiebreak and served an ace to engineer a set point. Federer calmly replied with an ace of his own and sealed victory at 9-8 on his second match point after a Murray double fault.
The British Davis Cup star will now begin his preparations for the US Open, which starts in just over a week's time, a little earlier than he would have liked.
Rafael Nadal, the man Murray has just deposed as world number two, can secure vital ranking points if he beats Novak Djokovic in tonight's other semi final.