Miami semi-final gallery: Murray vs del Potro

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 15:54

Andy Murray produced a sensational display as he beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-1 5-7 6-2 to reach the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where he will face Novak Djokovic.

The Serb’s run to the final means Murray cannot leapfrog him to become world No.3 in the rankings this week. But another fine performance, seeing off the Argentine in front of a partisan crowd, bodes well for the Scot as he looks to seal his third Masters crown.

“The first set was perfect. I can only hope in the future I can play close to that level” – Murray

Murray had won both previous meetings with Del Potro and started magnificently, although the Argentine’s sluggish start probably owed something to his quarter-final win over top seed and world No.1 Rafael Nadal. The Scot broke twice as he raced into a 5-0 lead and took the set in just over half an hour.

Murray took his foot off the gas in the second set, trading breaks with del Potro as the Argentine grew in confidence, levelling the match with a superb game at 6-5 to send the partizan crowd wild.

With the momentum with del Potro the match briefly threatened to get away from Murray, but the world No.4 remained focused and, after missing out earlier in the set, got the crucial break in game five.

With another break point on the line at 4-2, Murray was made to wait as Del Potro called for the trainer to receive treatment for cramp, before converting the break at the second time of asking and serving out the match comfortably.

“There were a lot of highs in the game. I think I only played one or two bad games,” Murray said afterwards. “The first set was perfect. I can only hope in the future I can play close to that level.

“In the first set I mixed it up a bit and kept him moving around. I knew he would be tired after the Nadal game so that’s what I tried to do.”

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here