THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Andy Murray defeated James Blake 6-2, 6-2 Thursday to set up a semifinal meeting with Roger Federer at the inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship. In the other first-round match, Nikolay Davydenko ousted Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-4 and will face Rafael Nadal in Friday's other semifinal. Nadal and Federer received first-round byes in the exhibition event, which is not part of the ATP Tour but features six of the world's top 10 players and offers a winner-take-all prize of US$250,000. Murray broke Blake in the third game and then took a 5-2 lead after using two forehand winners for another break. The struggling Blake was then broken twice in a row in the second set as Murray raced out to a 4-0 lead to take control of the match. Roddick started by hitting three aces in his opening service game but was broken in the next after missing a forehand, which was enough to give Davydenko the set. Roddick then made two unforced errors in the fourth game of the second set to give Davydenko another break, and the Russian held his serve the rest of the way. Capitala is the first major tennis tournament to be played at the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, and Roddick said he was bothered by the shade covering half the court for the mid-afternoon match. "It was tough playing out of the shadows and made it difficult to spot the ball," he said. "It was always going to be difficult coming from six weeks over the break. But regardless of this match, I have worked hard in the off-season and I am happy." The top-ranked Nadal and No. 2 Federer will both begin their 2009 ATP season by playing in the Qatar Open in Doha starting Monday. Murray, the defending champion, and Roddick are also playing in the tournament.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Davydenko advances in Abu Dhabi
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Andy Murray defeated James Blake 6-2, 6-2 Thursday to set up a semifinal meeting with Roger Federer at the inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship. In the other first-round match, Nikolay Davydenko ousted Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-4 and will face Rafael Nadal in Friday's other semifinal. Nadal and Federer received first-round byes in the exhibition event, which is not part of the ATP Tour but features six of the world's top 10 players and offers a winner-take-all prize of US$250,000. Murray broke Blake in the third game and then took a 5-2 lead after using two forehand winners for another break. The struggling Blake was then broken twice in a row in the second set as Murray raced out to a 4-0 lead to take control of the match. Roddick started by hitting three aces in his opening service game but was broken in the next after missing a forehand, which was enough to give Davydenko the set. Roddick then made two unforced errors in the fourth game of the second set to give Davydenko another break, and the Russian held his serve the rest of the way. Capitala is the first major tennis tournament to be played at the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, and Roddick said he was bothered by the shade covering half the court for the mid-afternoon match. "It was tough playing out of the shadows and made it difficult to spot the ball," he said. "It was always going to be difficult coming from six weeks over the break. But regardless of this match, I have worked hard in the off-season and I am happy." The top-ranked Nadal and No. 2 Federer will both begin their 2009 ATP season by playing in the Qatar Open in Doha starting Monday. Murray, the defending champion, and Roddick are also playing in the tournament.
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