Top seed Andy Murray booked his first Queen’s semi-final appearance with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over American Mardy Fish on Friday.
Murray is bidding to become the first British winner at Queen’s since 1938 and the Scot remains firmly on course thanks to an impressive quarter-final display at the pre-Wimbledon warm-up event.
The 22-year-old has yet to drop a set and will face former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero for a place in the final.
PHOTO: AFP
After a career-best display at the French Open earlier this month, Murray has adapted quickly to the grass courts of west London and already looks capable of mounting a serious challenge at Wimbledon.
Even against Fish, whose power-game is well suited to grass, there was never any sign that Murray would be blown off course by the eighth seed.
At 5-5 in the first set, Murray finally exploited a chink in Fish’s armor to break for the first time and then served out the set.
PHOTO : AFP
Murray was able to hold his serve comfortably in the second set and made the all-important break when Fish tamely netted on his second break point of the seventh game.
With Fish looking out of his depth, Murray clinched victory with a blistering return of serve.
Andy Roddick won the battle of the game’s biggest servers as he beat Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) to keep alive his bid for a record fifth Queen’s title.
PHOTO : AP
Roddick, the American second seed, and Croatia’s Karlovic, seeded ninth, have served more aces than any other player this season.
It was little surprise that the match was a war of attrition as Karlovic, at 208cm the biggest player on Tour, lashed down one booming serve after another and Roddick followed suit to send the first set to a tie-break.
Roddick was finally able to wrestle control as he earned an early mini-break to win his 18th breaker out of 21 attempts this year.
The second set was more of the same, with Roddick missing one match point on Karlovic’s serve at 6-5. Another breaker was required to separate them and Roddick took it again.
The former US Open champion was to next play compatriot and sixth seed James Blake, who put out Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Former French Open champion Ferrero reached the first grasscourt semi-final of his career after coming from behind to beat Steve Darcis 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
■GERRY WEBER OPEN
REUTERS, HALLE, GERMANY
World No. 4 Novak Djokovic eased past Austrian Juergen Melzer 6-1, 6-4 at the Gerry Weber Open on Friday to set up a semi-final clash with Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus.
Rochus edged Benjamin Becker 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the last four, while Tommy Haas also progressed to set up an all-German clash with Philipp Kohlschreiber in yesterday’s other semi.
Haas, who missed much of last year because of a shoulder injury, continued his winning run by sweeping past fellow German Misha Zverev 7-6, 6-2. The former world No. 2 traded breaks with the 21-year-old before coming out on top in the tiebreak.
Earlier on Friday, Kohlschreiber beat Andreas Beck 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to book his place in the last four.
■AEGON CLASSIC
AFP, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND
Maria Sharapova joined India’s Sania Mirza in the semi-finals of the Aegon Classic on Friday.
Sharapova, the former Wimbledon champion, defeated Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 to reach the semis for the sixth time.
Sharapova faces China’s Li Na next and will be making her first appearance in a semi-final since May last year when she was beaten by Jelena Jankovic in Rome.
Mirza defeated 16th seed Melinda Czink 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) and will play Slovakian 13th seed Magdalena Rybarikova, who beat Poland’s Urszula Radwanska 6-3, 6-3.
Fourth seed Li also moved into the last four with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele.
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