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1/3/09 7:51 PM | Jonathan Morgan
World No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 4 Andy Murray appear to be destined for a semifinal showdown in Doha ahead of the first slam of the year
In the bottom half of the Doha draw, Murray has a clear path to the semis. He has never played Albert Montanes, Jeremy Chardy, or Philipp Petzchner, but Murray should have no trouble navigating those first two rounds.The Scot is also a combined 7-0 against his four potential quarterfinal opponents. With his recent triumph in the Abu Dhabi Cash Grab Invitational Exhibition ($250,000 in prize money), Murray at the very least appeared to still be playing as well as he had at the close of last season. Book a spot for Murray in the semis.
Roger Federer meanwhile, has quite a few problems to deal with this week. First of all is his ranking. With Djokovic’s triumph at the Masters Cup as well as Roger’s uncharacteristic Shanghai showing, Novak is just 20 points shy of Federer. The Serb world #3 would be able to take the #2 ranking from Federer simply by doing better in Brisbane than Roger does in Doha. Roger can definitively secure his #2 rank and #2 seed for the Aussie Open by winning the tournament. Federer’s draw in Doha is very kind, though, seeing as he is 11-0 against all possible opponents before the Murray clash.
Murray beat Federer three times in 2008, including twice after the US Open loss. Andy just seems to have Roger figured out. Both men will have a few rounds to play their way into form and shake off their off season rust. The actual match will be a toss-up as their late-season matches last year were both tight 3 set affairs. Should be a great semifinal and tournament to kick off the year, especially with the Australian Open just a few weeks away.
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