Britain's Andy Murray outgunned Roger Federer 3-6 6-3 7-5 on Saturday to reach the Madrid Masters final and avenge his defeat at the US Open. The world number four's victory sets up a showdown with world number one Rafael Nadal or France's Gilles Simon.
Murray said on Friday he felt more relaxed than before his straight-sets defeat in the final of the US Open last month, and early serves of around 220-kph (136-mph) hinted at a closer contest at Madrid's Glass Palace arena. The Scot showed flashes of form early on but Federer gave the 21-year-old no time to settle, forcing him into unforced errors to break midway through the first set.
Murray grew in confidence, however, and by the third set the match had swung in his favour. "I served huge and the second serve was very good," he told reporters. "That probably makes the top five (in his best performances). "Yesterday I played great but with all respect to (Frenchman Gael) Monfils, he's not the same player as Federer."
Murray slammed 14 aces, 10 in the final set, but it was testament to Federer's fearless style that the Swiss saved six break points before finally cracking at 5-5 when he struck a forehand long. The Scot brought up match point with a huge cross-court forehand and sealed his third victory over Federer when his opponent netted a forehand.
As the only man who could have caught Nadal, Federer's defeat guarantees the Spaniard the world number one ranking for the rest of the year. "I thought Andy served very well today and returned much more comfortably than at the (US) Open," said the world number two. "He did well to hang in there and it was a close match. "I move on from here with a good feeling and I think it was a pretty good week."
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