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Murray continues Qatar quest
- Updated: January 5, 2017
Top-seeded Andy Murray defeated Spain’s Nicolas Almagro in testing, blustery conditions to reach his first semi-final of the season at the Qatar Open on Thursday.
Murray came through 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 and will take on the winner of the later match between third-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Friday’s semi-finals.
The Scot was made to work hard after being broken to love in the opening game by the tenacious world No 44. But after hitting back in the eighth game, Murray was taken to a tie-break, which he went on to dominate.
Both players traded breaks of serve early in the second set, and although Almagro stayed strong under increasing pressure and took the game to his opponent during spells, he eventually succumbed in the 11th game.
Murray successfully served out the match after two hours and nine minutes to extend his remarkable unbeaten streak to 27 matches.
“It was tough conditions tonight, very windy,” said Murray. “I’m pretty tough [with myself] …
