Murray packs off Monfils

Source: Agencies  |   2008-10-18  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

BRITAIN'S Andy Murray outclassed Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Madrid Masters yesterday.

The 21-year-old Scot, who next faces Roger Federer or Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, was a bundle of energy and showed little sign of discomfort in the knee that had troubled him the day before.

After swapping breaks in the first two games, world No. 4 Murray, who has already qualified for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, started to work the 20-year-old Parisian around as the pace heated up.

He broke the world No. 18 to take a 4-2 lead before another break handed him the set.

It was not until the fourth game of the second set that the match burst into life.

Murray scampered after everything Monfils could throw at him, sent up a pair of delicate lobs over his 6-foot-4 opponent and at one point flashed a cross-court winner past Monfils that left the Frenchman sprawled on the deck.

Monfils, who beat Andy Roddick in the third round, did not help himself with unforced errors, but Murray was starting to play the level of tennis that got him to the US Open final.

With his serve working smoothly, all the pressure was on the Monfils serve. At 1-4 down the Parisian was left shaking his head in disbelief as Murray incredibly reached his smash and blasted a winner down the line before breaking Monfils to love.

Murray was playing some of his best tennis of the season, but as against Marin Cilic on Thursday, he again stumbled with the line in sight, before a deflated Monfils double faulted in the eighth game to gift Murray the match.

In later matches, Federer was taking on del Potro, world No. 1 Rafael Nadal played Spanish compatriot Feliciano Lopez and France's Gilles Simon battled Ivo Karlovic.

Towering Croat Karlovic toppled third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) to make the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Swiss Federer comfortably beat Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-1 while del Potro saw off Argentine compatriot David Nalbandian, the defending champion, 6-4, 6-2.

Nadal booked his place in the last eight by breezing past an out-of-sorts Richard Gasquet of France 6-4 6-2 while Lopez ousted Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4.

In Zurich, unseeded Flavia Pennetta continued her giant-killing run at the Zurich Open when she beat Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals yesterday.

On Thursday, the Italian had ended Jelena Jankovic's bid for a fourth straight title when the world No. 1 lost 7-5, 3-6, 3-6 in the second round.

The Serb was playing her opening match of the week after receiving a first-round bye but showed little sign of having benefited from her brief rest since winning in Moscow.