Friday, January 2, 2009

Murray ready for early Nadal test

Andy Murray v Rafael Nadal
Venue: Abu Dhabi Date: Saturday, 3 January Start: 1300 GMT
Coverage: Text commentary on BBC Sport website

Andy Murray
Murray has just one win in six meetings with Nadal

Andy Murray will attempt to complete the perfect preparation for the new tennis season when he takes on world number one Rafael Nadal on Saturday.

The British number one beat Roger Federer in Abu Dhabi on Friday to set up a final against Nadal, who saw off Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets.

Murray beat Nadal for the first time in last year's US Open semi-finals, having lost their first five matches.

The pair are playing in the inaugural exhibition event in the UAE.

It is a winner-takes-all tournament that is not part of the ATP Tour, with US$250,000 on offer to the victor.

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Murray, Nadal and Federer will kick off the season proper in Doha next week, with the Australian Open getting under way on 19 January.

Australian tennis great John Newcombe, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, believes Murray is currently the man to beat.

"He got to number four in the world, but the way he was playing at the end of the year, you think in 12 months' time he'll be close to number one," said Newcombe.

"How will Nadal's injuries go with his knees? And Djokovic, let's see how he handles the nerves when he's defending his Grand Slam title.

"And with Roger, I'm sure he's been doing some very serious training and realising he has to come up with something a bit extra, which sounds strange, but (he needs to) vary his game and come to the net a bit more.

"The way they finished last year, I wouldn't be surprised to see Andy Murray. In my mind, he could be the guy who will step up and win."

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