Andy Murray will take on Rafael Nadal in today’s Final of the Mutua Madrid Open after maintaining his recent magnificent form on clay against Kei Nishikori.
The second seed claimed a 6-3 6-4 win in an hour and 37 minutes as he looks to follow up on his first clay title at the BMW Open in Munich last week.
But to do that he will have to get past home favourite and clay master Nadal, who beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 in their semi-final.
The first two games went with serve and while Murray earned a break point at 30-40 in the third, Nishikori was able to see off the danger.
The Japanese had a chance for a break of his own in the sixth game but Murray was able to see that off and took the next game to open a 4-3 lead.
The Scot held in the next game and then broke his opponent again to take the opening set in 45 minutes.
And he made it four games in a row at the start of the second before Nishikori at last got back on the board and then earned himself a break point on the next Murray serve.
Murray saw off that break point but could not hold out for a second and all of a sudden Nishikori led 2-1 in the set.
He could not maintain that momentum, though, and Murray levelled things up at the second time of asking in the next game.
The next five games went with serve, although Nishikori had to see off a break point in the eighth, and he could not repeat the feat in the 10th as Murray closed out the win.
“I’ve lost some tough matches against the best players on clay where I felt like I played well, but it’s nice to get a win like that under my belt with the French Open just a couple of weeks away,” Murray said.
“It’s a good confidence booster for me. I’ve got another great test tomorrow.
“I’m aware it’s going to be incredibly difficult.
“Playing against him (Nadal) on clay in Spain I think is a big test, the crowd is incredibly pumped for him when he gets on the court. I have to be there mentally and play a smart match.
“It’s important that you have good tactics, trust your shots and hopefully play well. If I want to win, I’m going to have to play extremely well.”
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe