Saturday, April 4, 2009

Murray confident for Miami final

Live text commentary on Andy Murray v Novak Djokovic from 1800 BST on Sunday

Andy Murray
In-form Murray is bidding for his third Masters 1000 title

Andy Murray is in confident mood as he prepares to face Novak Djokovic in the Sony Ericsson Open final in Miami.

The British number one takes on the Serb at 1800 BST on Sunday, bidding for his third Masters title after wins in Cincinnati and Madrid last year.

Murray trails the head-to-head against Djokovic 4-2, but crucially the Scot has won their last two matches.

"The last couple of times I sort of figured out a way to play him, whereas before I struggled a bit," said Murray.

"I feel confident and I've had a really good run so far this year but I won't put any extra pressure on myself. It's going to be a good match."

Asked if he felt he now had an edge over 2007 champion Djokovic, the Briton said: "No, I think if both of us play well it'll be a great match. I'm sure he feels the same way."

All our matches were pretty close but he drastically improved in the last year or so

Djokovic on Murray

Murray reached the final with a 6-1 5-7 6-2 victory over Juan Martin del Potro, who had knocked out world number one Rafael Nadal in the last eight.

The Briton also reached the Masters 1000 final in Indian Wells a fortnight ago before losing to Nadal, a run that saw him close in on Djokovic's number three ranking.

Djokovic's fightback from a set down to beat Roger Federer in the semi-finals means Murray cannot overtake him this week but victory in Miami would pile the pressure on.

"It's going to be a tough match, Novak's obviously won here once before and is playing good tennis again," Murray told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He struggled a little bit right at the start of the year but won in Dubai, made the quarters last week and here has beaten Federer. He's actually had a tough draw this week and has come through relatively comfortably."

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The two 21-year-olds emerged on the world stage at the same time, although it was Djokovic who made the jump to the top of the game first as Murray was held back by injuries.

Indeed, when Djokovic thrashed an ailing Murray 6-1 6-0 in the Miami semi-finals two years ago the gap appeared to be widening, but the Briton finally made the breakthrough in Toronto last summer and repeated the feat a week later in Cincinnati.

However, Djokovic insisted: "I love the last two matches against Andy. It was close matches.

"All our matches were pretty close but he drastically improved in the last year or so. Physically-wise he's much stronger and has a lot of endurance out on the court.

"Even though he doesn't look like he's all boosted up when he plays the match, he doesn't have that body language, he's stronger and has bigger muscles and runs all over the court. I get the feeling he can run a lot.

"And he changes pace a lot. He is a smart, smart player who doesn't have any huge weapons but again, very solid from all the strokes."

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