Fish beats Murray in Cincinnati

Andy Murray battled hard but succumbed to American Mardy Fish 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 7-6 (7-5) in intense heat in the last eight of the Cincinnati Masters.

While not at his best, world number four Murray showed resilience to take the first set on a tie-break.

The Scot was treated court-side for the heat in the second set, which Fish took with ease as Murray's strength waned.

Murray showed immense reserve to force the final set to a tie-break but Fish proved just too strong for the Scot.

Fish will now face the winner of the quarter-final match between Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic.

The players took to the court at 12pm local time (1700 BST) in temperatures reaching 33 degrees in the shade, after Murray's request for a later start on Friday was rejected by tournament officials.

606: DEBATE Mardy's play at the net was perhaps the best I've seen in resent memory and was key to his well earned victory today quietplease

Murray's game was not at it's best - particularly his serve - but his stamina held up during a hard-fought first set, which went with serve and was finally won by the Scot in an equally tight tie-break.

However, coming into the match off the back of seven recent encounters played in the early afternoon - stretching back to the first round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto which he won last week - was bound to catch up with Murray eventually.

He capitulated during a second set that saw him treated with ice throughout to combat the heat and Fish seized control of the match with some strong forehand hitting and powerful serving.

But Murray's exhausted mid-point demeanour belied the depths of his resilience and he rallied to once again prove highly competitive in the third set - hanging in to force the match to a decisive tie-break.

But Fish was just able to come out on top in a see-saw finale to bring to an end Murray's seven-game unbeaten run in a match that lasted just short of three hours.

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