Andy Murray Reach Rome Masters Final

 

Andy Murray has reached the final of the Rome Masters for the first time after he swept aside Lucas Pouille in straight sets.  The Scot was only troubled by the weather in a rain-interrupted match and sealed a comfortable 6-2 6-1 win over Pouille in under an hour to stay on course for a possible final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday. 

Murray had never previously played against Pouille, who qualified as a lucky loser and then benefitted from Juan Monaco's withdrawal in the quarter-finals, but the Frenchman's good fortune would end there. After rain had delayed the start, Murray broke for a 3-1 lead with a fizzing forehand, before a further downpour sent the players back to the changing rooms at 4-2.

Murray did not want to risk another interruption when the match resumed and quickly broke Pouille again to claim the first set. Pouille was showing glimpses of his talent, in particular with his cleverly disguised drop shot, but was only briefly delaying Murray, who broke again for a 3-1 lead. The world No 52 could not fend off his opponent for much longer and conceded his serve once more, allowing Murray to book his appearance on Sunday with a thumping ace. 

Djokovic defeated the British No 1 in last weekend's Madrid Open final, but must firstly overcome Kei Nishikori in the later semi-final, and Murray is expecting a far sterner test tomorrow saying “I didn't feel that comfortable coming out on the court, obviously the break as well at 4-2 was tricky too. He made quite a few mistakes and I served well today and made it easy for myself.  Any time you get the chance to play the best players, especially right before a slam, it's great preparation. The few matches I have played here have been fairly quick matches and regardless of who I play tomorrow, I know I'll be pushed extremely hard and be put in difficult situations, difficult moments. That's what you want”.