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| October 1, 2005 | Saturday | Sha'aban 26, 1426 |
Murray, Federer march into semis
BANGKOK, Sept 30: Briton Andy Murray celebrated his entry into the world’s top 100 by beating U.S. Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri 4-6 6-4 6-3 to reach the last four of the Thailand Open on Friday.
The 18-year-old Scot, who started the year ranked 411, defeated the American third seed to clinch the second best result of his career after his second round Wimbledon defeat of 15th-ranked Radek Stepanek.
Further good news for Murray was that second seed Lleyton Hewitt, his likely semifinal opponent, withdrew with a leg injury against Paradorn Srichaphan, handing the seventh-seeded Thai a walkover.
Top seed Roger Federer eased past Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-4 6-3 and will meet Jarkko Nieminen in the semi-finals. The sixth seeded Finn ended the run of Taiwan’s Yeu-Tzuoo Wang, winning 6-4 6-7 6-4.
Murray broke serve in the opening game of the match when Ginepri double-faulted, combining fine returns and strong serving to build a 3-1 lead.
The set was turned on its head when Murray suffered an inexplicable lapse, losing 12 out of 13 points as Ginepri broke back twice to take the first set.
Serve dominated the second set until the ninth game when Murray broke, courtesy of a backhand pass down the line.
Gaining in confidence, Murray raised his game to new levels in the decider, unleashing powerful forehands to keep Ginepri under pressure.
The American cracked when he double-faulted to give the Scot a 3-2 lead. His frustration boiled over and he received a warning for racket abuse. Murray broke again to claim victory and a place in his first ATP semifinal.
Federer needed patience but had little difficulty in disposing of Muller who recently sprung the biggest surprise of the U.S. Open by bouncing Andy Roddick from the first round.
The Swiss world number one broke on his fifth break point in the opening game and held further break points at 3-1 and 4-2, although Muller often played his way out of trouble with a blistering serve.
Federer had to wait for a further 54 minutes to earn his second break of the match. Two consecutive double-faults at 5-3 led to Federer claiming a third break and the match.
Hewitt struggled in both his opening matches in Bangkok and he saved four match points against Justin Gimelstob before advancing to the quarterfinals. #
Quarterfinal results:
Roger Federer bt Gilles Muller 6-4 6-3; Jarkko Nieminen bt Yeu-Tzuoo Wang 6-4 6-7(3) 6-4; Paradorn Srichaphan bt Lleyton Hewitt WO; Andy Murray bt Robby Ginepri 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Korea Open
SEOUL: Results from the Korea Open somen’s singles quarterfinals on Friday
Nicole Vaidisova bt Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-1; Jelena Jankovic bt Vera Douchevina 5-7 6-3 6-3; Catalina Castano bt Laura Granville 2-6 6-1 6-1; Tatiana Golovin bt Ai Sugiyama 6-3 6-2.
Luxembourg WTA
LUXEMBOURG: Collated results in the US$585,000 WTA tournament on Thursday:
Second round: Nathalie Dechy bt Daly Randriantefy 6-1, 6-2; Dinara Safina bt Jarmila Gajdosova 6-3, 6-1; Nadia Petrova) bt Kveta Peschke 6-3, 6-1; Roberta Vinci bt Patty Schnyder 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-4; Anna-Lena Groenefeld bt Anna Smashnova 6-1, 6-2.—Agencies
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