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1/9/09 4:31 AM | Ricky Dimon
The No. 1 seed in the Qatar Open is gone, but a highly-anticipated semifinal is still on the menu. Roger Federer and Andy Murray will fight for a spot in the title match.
Semifinal matches don't get much bigger than this.
With Rafael Nadal out of the tournament after losing to Gael Monfils, Roger Federer and Andy Murray will steal all the headlines at the Qatar Exxon Mobil Open on Friday. The No. 2 and No. 4 players in the world will square off in another installment of what is becoming the second biggest rivalry in men's tennis behind Nadal and Federer.
Murray leads the head-to-head series with Federer 4-2, not including a three-set win at last weekend's exhibition event in Abu Dhabi. Federer evened the series at 2-2 with a dominant performance in last year's U.S. Open final, but Murray has won twice since then; 7-5 in the third at both the Masters Series Madrid and the Masters Cup.
The Scot went on to take the Madrid title, his second consecutive Masters Series victory, the first of which came in Cincinnati during the U.S. Open Series. In addition to those two trophies and the runner-up finish in Flushing Meadows, Murray won a title in St. Petersburg last fall and went undefeated in Masters Cup round-robin play before losing to Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals. The world No. 4 has kept up his form this week, taking out Albert Montanes, Philipp Petzschner, and Sergiy Stakhovsky all in straight sets.
Federer went through a well-documented "slump" for the majority of 2008, but he broke out of it with his fifth consecutive U.S. Open title. The Swiss won another title in Basel shortly thereafter, but pulled out of the Masters Series Paris with a back injury to go along with his two losses to Murray. Federer, however, seems to be back on track at the start of 2009. So far in Doha he has eliminated Potito Starace, Andreas Seppi, and Philipp Kohlschreiber. Like Murray, the world No. 2 has also not dropped a set.
This semifinal clash is anyone's ballgame. Gone are the days when Federer is an overwhelming favorite whenever he steps on court that's not made of clay, but the days of Federer being clearly surpassed by a younger generation are certainly not here yet. Murray has enjoyed the upper hand of late, but this could be the first time since the U.S. Open that Federer feels he really has to make a statement. Federer wants to start this season strong after mononucleosis derailed the early (and perhaps even latter) stages of his 2008 campaign, and that motivation could help him pull out a three-setter on Friday.
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fedex cummon plz prove urself...blast murray......and prove u r d legend.....bash him out in 2 straight sets in a fabulous fashion....
ravikiran , 1/9/09 4:58 AM
Cheryl
"Murray had to beat himself into the ground" to beat a Federer with a bad back. Hmm
nirv01 , 1/9/09 5:01 AM
players have lost to opponents while the opponent was playing injured. You could nit pick til the world ends it doesn't change anything. But true, Murray did have to work hard, he's much younger and will imrpove with experience and stamina. Fed had to work had in 2007 to beat an ailing Rafa at Wimb finals, tada yada...
homos , 1/9/09 5:20 AM
Federer is "BACKkkk" ! Have "FUN" !!!
sky , 1/9/09 5:28 AM
Fed gna win in straight sets, watch out!
Max , 1/9/09 7:18 AM
Roger,
U've to win this one!
agnes , 1/9/09 8:46 AM
Murray is in much better condition than Federer, so he'll win, no doubt, anyway, he deserve it, and he confirmed that recently in U.A.E. in Abu Dhabi, sit and watch...
gordana , 1/9/09 8:57 AM
Very tough to call..50-50 for me but i think the scotsman will be able to make it 5-2 in their head2 head clashes..but only just...its jst the matter of fed's forehand..if its firing and making few errors then watch out murray ,otherwise murray is going to prevail in a mighty battle....we are going to see alot of cross court battles..i love the way how murray tries to neutralize roger's deadly backhand slice by slicing it with is own reliable backhand.Important for roger to serve really we.. ..cant wait to see it tho!!
vamosrafa , 1/9/09 10:31 AM
I hope that it would be a great match. Murray play some fantastic tennis at the moment,but Roger is back.
StefanF , 1/9/09 11:57 AM
Agree with Cheryl - Andy to win another 3-set, seesaw encounter. Go Murray!
alex , 1/9/09 2:08 PM
This match is certainly more important for Roger than Andy. If Murray wins this then it will be a big surprise if Roger has the confidence to lift the AO.I think because of the importance then Roger will scrape it although i think Roger is Murray's idol (by the way he speaks about him in interviews) so Andy will be up for the match..
simmiesaint , 1/9/09 3:35 PM
why did Fed always won the 1st set and loses in the end. I think Fed is not as fir as he was when he was younger.
torres9 , 1/9/09 10:55 PM
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I dunno, Ricky. I think Muzza takes this one. He proved in Shanghai that he'll beat himself into the ground to get a win over the Mighty Federer. I have a feeling this is going to be a beast of a three setter with Murray as the winner.
cherylmurray , 1/9/09 4:37 AM