TENNIS in DEPTH.

Novak Djokovic took 90 minutes to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on a day when seven of the eight top seeds all successfully advanced. Djokovic recovered from a break down in the second set to beat Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 and seal a last-eight showdown against his friend and fellow Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. Tipsarevic, seeded seven, shrugged off a below-par first set to beat Italy’s world number 86 Flavio Cipolla 6-7 (7-2) 6-1 6-1, and Djokovic expects a much tougher match against his Davis Cup team-mate. Djokovic told atptour.com: “[Janko] is very dangerous from the baseline. When he has time and steps into the court, he is very dangerous. I need to try to be aggressive and stay close to the line.”

The only top eight seed to fail to reach the quarter-finals was American sixth seed Mardy Fish, whose disappointing recent form continued as he was beaten 6-2 7-6 (7-0) by Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny. Next up for Youzhny is second seed Roger Federer, who swept past Feliciano Lopez of Spain 7-5 6-3 and said: “I stayed calm and found a way to come through. These are the kinds of matches you need at this stage in a tournament.”

Third seed Andy Murray had few problems dispatching Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli 6-3 6-4. Murray did not face a single break point in the match and broke his opponent twice to ensure a routine progression. Murray’s next opponent, Czech fifth seed Tomas Berdych, enjoyed an even more comfortable run to the last eight with a 6-1 6-2 win over Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko in just 69 minutes.

The final quarter-final will be between in-form Juan Martin Del Potro, who beat qualifier Andrey Golubev 6-4 6-2, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was a 6-3 6-4 winner over Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic.

Bookmark It

Andy Murray pushed Novak Djokovic to the limit of his powers but went down in five sets to miss out on a place in the Australian Open final. The British number one fought back from losing the first set to win the next two, and from 5-2 in the decider. But defending champion Djokovic raised his level to battle through 6-3 3-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 7-5 in four hours 50 minutes. The world number one, who beat Murray in the 2011 final, plays Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s showpiece at 0830 GMT. ”I’m extremely delighted to be in another final,” said Djokovic, who looked exhausted when Murray led 2-1. ”It was a physical match. Andy deserves credit for coming back. He was fighting, I was fighting. ”It was one of the best matches I’ve played.”

Murray becomes the fist man in the Open Era to be eliminated in semi-finals at four successive Grand Slams. But he can take heart from one of the best performances of his career so far, just a few weeks into his partnership with new coach Ivan Lendl.

Bookmark It

Novak Djokovic booked a semi-final against Andy Murray at the Australian Open with a straight-sets win over David Ferrer. Djokovic saw off the challenge of fifth seed Ferrer 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in Tuesday night’s quarter-final on the Rod Laver Arena. The world number one’s reward is a clash with British hope Murray in the last four, a repeat of the 2011 final which the Serb won in straight sets to set the tone for a year of dominance. Djokovic secured the opening break in the fifth game before going on to serve out the first set in 58 minutes. But Ferrer showed his resilience in the second set, twice retrieving in a break, including when an increasingly frustrated Djokovic served for it at 6-5. A tie-break was required and the Spaniard battled into a 4-2 lead before blowing his chance. Djokovic reeled off five points in a row to turn the tie-break around and claim a two-set lead. Ferrer dropped his opening service game of the third set and, from there, Djokovic was able to close out the result without alarm.

Murray played some sublime tennis at times as he wrapped up a 6-3 6-3 6-1 victory to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the third successive year. Nishikori, who came through a five-set epic against sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the previous round, desperately tried varying his game but he could find no answer to Murray’s play. However if there was one thing that did let Murray down at times it was his service game – with the 24-year-old broken twice. Murray broke back immediately on each occasion, though, to limit the damage. Nishikori, the first player from Japan to reach the last eight at Melbourne Park in 80 years, had spurned five break-point opportunities in the opening set. The Scot, though, was even more wasteful as he missed eight opportunities – however the one he did take was enough for him to seal the set. Murray broke at the start of the second set – only for Nishikori to hit back immediately, although he almost let the world No.4 off the hook as two chances passed him by before he finally levelled. Nishikori’s joy was shortlived, though, as Murray broke twice more to move into a two-set lead. The 22-year-old looked out on his feet at the start of the third set as Murray moved 2-0 up – although a couple of double faults allowed Nishikori to break back. Yet again Nishikori, though, failed to take advantage as Murray moved 3-1 up before accelerating away to wrap up the set and the match.

Bookmark It

Andy Murray breezed in to the third round of the Australian Open with a straight-sets win over Edouard Roger-Vaselin. Murray, the world No.4, never looked back from a lightning-fast start as he recorded a 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory. With his first serve working beautifully, Murray showed a clear improvement from his tough first-round tie against Ryan Harrison. Murray said: “I served well today. I didn’t give him too many opportunities on my serve, which was important as he played well in the second and third sets.”

Novak Djokovic stressed the importance of winning easily in the opening rounds after breezing past Santiago Giraldo at the Australian Open. The defending champion has been untroubled so far in Melbourne – and that’s just how he likes it. Having won his first-round match for the loss of just two games, the world number one posted another easy win on Thursday, beating Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-3 6-2 6-1. Djokovic dropped his serve early on but that proved the only blip as he cruised through to a clash with Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. He said: “I am trying to be physically fit and fresh for the upcoming rounds. The longer the tournament goes, the tougher it gets. ”Especially in the opening rounds you are trying to get the rhythm to play well in every match.

“You can’t underestimate any opponent and Santiago is a tricky player. It was really important to win the first set.”

Bookmark It

With Ivan Lendl in his corner for the first time, Andy Murray ruthlessly ended Tomic’s career-best charge at the Brisbane International 6-3 6-2 in 70 minutes. The Gold Coast teenager started brightly on Pat Rafter Arena as he looked all the measure of the most dangerous young challenger on the tour – producing drop shots, lobs and trips to the net that all struck gold. He didn’t lose a point on serve as the score ticked over to 3-all. But as impressive as his first 18 minutes were, the next 18 were in stark contrast as Murray lifted a gear, took complete control and booked a place in Sunday’s final against Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov. “I thought it was going to be a piece of cake – I thought it was going to be easy,” Tomic laughed sheepishly. “It turned around.

“If you look at it he beat Roger (Federer) in the Masters series final 6-3 6-3 so you can’t be harsh on yourself, he just played really good.” Despite the loss, Tomic’s world ranking will rise from 42 to a career-high 37 before he plays at the Kooyong Classic this week. On the basis of their first meeting, Murray tipped the numbers will just keep getting lower for the Wimbledon quarter-finalist. He’s going to be good, there’s no question, you just never know how good,” he said. “It depends on the body, it depends how hard you work and also a little bit of luck. “He’s got a big frame and he’s a big guy and so once he fills out and gets stronger he’s going to be even tougher so he’s got a good future for sure.”

Last year’s Australian Open finalist had new coach Lendl in his box for the first time and now looks over the niggles that plagued him at the start of the week to be in top shape for his tilt at the Australian Open. Tomic wasn’t helped by a minor toe injury, but world No.15 Dolgopolov had to overcome a bigger injury concern as he dug deep to defeat French second seed Gilles Simon 6-3 6-4. The 23-year-old, coached by South Australian resident Jack Reader, feared the worst when he tweaked his groin at the start of the second set and was set to retire. But an out-of-form Simon let the 23-year-old off the hook by not making him work harder for each point and the pain subsided. “The first game it was hurting so hard after I pulled it that I thought I would finish in a few games,” admitted Dolgopolov, who declared himself fit for the final.

Bookmark It

Andy Murray on Wednesday night survived his second consecutive scare on Pat Rafter Arena when forced to dig extremely deep to overcome Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 in two hours to book a place in the Brisbane International quarterfinals. It was almost a carbon copy of his first-round win over world No.91 Mikhail Kukushkin, again appearing in discomfort and frustrated as he lost the first set to Muller before storming back late in the second. Murray paid credit to the world No.54′s big serve but admitted he was far off his best fitness after ending 2011 early with a groin problem. While last year’s Australian Open runner-up felt his body was gradually improving, Murray didn’t expect to be at his peak until the opening round at Melbourne Park.

“I want to be feeling 100 per cent on Monday in 10 or 11 days, that’s the goal, but with each match your body’s going to feel better,” said the 24-year-old. “The more matches I can get this week the better so it’s been a good start.” With main rivals Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer playing in the Middle East, Murray will now meet popular Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in his Friday quarterfinal and hopes to finally feel some nerves. He said it was only when he was down a break point to go down 5-3 in the second set that the adrenaline started to flow and helped him click into gear. Murray rallied, sent the set to a tiebreak, took control with an amazing reverse backhand flick on the run and then swept through the third set. “They’re the sort of points I need to be repeating over and over,” he said. “That point was a big one and it gave me more confidence in movement and I didn’t feel any soreness and stiffness and I felt I loosened up a little bit after that.”

Bookmark It

World number four Murray will begin working with Lendl immediately as they prepare for the Australian Open next month. ”Ivan’s impact on the game is unquestionable and he brings experience and knowledge that few others have, particularly in major tournaments,” said the 24-year-old Scot. ”It was important to me that any new person joining my team was able to add fresh insight. ”I look forward to working with him going forward.”

Czech-born Lendl, 51, is one of the most decorated players of all time, a winner of eight grand slam tournaments. In a statement released through Murray’s management company, Lendl said: “I am really excited to have the opportunity to work with Andy. ”He is a unique talent and I look forward to trying to help him reach his goals.”

Murray has experienced a mixed 2011. Currently the world number four, he enjoyed a spell at number three before dropping back behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. He reached the final of the Australian Open and the semi-finals of the other three grand slams. And he enjoyed a rich run of form later in the year, lifting titles in Bangkok, Tokyo and at the Shanghai Masters before seeing his 17-match winning streak ended by Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters in early November. His season ended with disappointment, pulling out of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London with injury. But that ultimate grand slam prize continues to elude him, however, and it will be hoped Lendl’s presence will play dividends in 2012. And with the Olympics in London taking place in the summer, Murray has set his sights on a successful year. Simon Fuller, Murray’s manager and business partner, said: “Andy’s achievements in 2011 have demonstrated the quality of his game. ”Having a champion like Lendl join his team will help him achieve his ultimate ambitions.”

Bookmark It

The Scotsman has signed up for the event starting on New Year’s Day at Queensland Tennis Centre. Murray said he was looking forward to making his first visit to the state. ”With a quality field, it is the perfect way to begin my Australian campaign,” Murray said. He is another big-name signing for the event, which runs until January 8 and serves as ideal preparation for the Australian Open from January 16.

Brisbane International tournament director Cameron Pearson was thrilled to add Murray’s name to an already impressive line-up for 2012, which includes Sam Stosur, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic. ”Andy will join Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in their debut year at the Brisbane International and I am sure all three will be fan favourites with the Queensland public,” Pearson said.

Murray suffered a setback in his bid to win the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in London overnight, when he was beaten by Spain’s David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5 in their round-robin match.

Bookmark It