Fed falls to Murray again

Murray: Maintained momentum

He is an awesome player, arguably the greatest player of all time, so I am happy about my performance today.

Andy Murray
Quotes of the week

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Andy Murray maintained his winning run against Roger Federer with a 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-2 victory at the Qatar Open on Friday.

The 2008 Doha champion will now face Andy Roddick in the Qatar Open final following another consummate display from the Scot after falling a set down to the Swiss.

The world number four is in prime form ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on January 19, although a back complaint that required the trainer's attention early in the deciding set remains a cause for concern.

Murray now has a record of six wins from eight against the 13-time Grand slam winner as he goes in search of that breakthrough first major.

The result was made even more impressive by the fact he came back from a set down to succeed - just as he did at the World Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi at the turn of the year.

Turnaround

The first 12 games all went with serve before the world number two opened up a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker.

Murray battled back to earn a set point of his own, but a masterful drop shot volley from Federer saved the situation and he went on to take the next two straight points to clinch the tiebreak 8-6.

The British number one's powerful serve had gone largely unchallenged in the first set, but he was forced to save three break points in the third game of the second set to ensure the match stayed with service.

Federer went on to serve up his fourth double fault of the contest as Murray broke the 27-year-old in the sixth game of the set and he took it into a decider with a break in the eighth as well.

After struggling to hold his serve in the third game of the third set, Murray then received treatment from the trainer on his back and perhaps that provided the breather the Scot needed.

He went on to break Federer in the very next game to open up a 3-1 lead and the world number two quickly capitulated as Murray maintained his hoodoo over his opponent with a 6-2 finish.

"It is good to have beaten him," Murray said. "He is an awesome player, arguably the greatest player of all time, so I am happy about my performance today."

Competition

Former world number one Roddick reached his first final since September with a 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 6-3 triumph against Gael Monfils meanwhile.

The big-serving American showed signs of evolving into a more measured and varied player during the win and he is now fully focused on Saturday's final.

"He has an interesting dynamic because he just begs you to come forward, and then he will come up with a passing shot," Roddick said of Monfils after the match.

"So it's a matter of staying the course and not getting discouraged by it. It was a physical match but I have done a lot of hard work in close season.

"I wasn't in shape at the end of last year after various injuries, but now I feel better.

"I concentrated pretty well in the third set. It was just a matter of winning the points at the right time."