By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, April 3, 2015
Andy Murray defeated Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the Miami Open final for the fourth time.
Photo credit: @MiamiOpen
Dabbing a short-angled drop shot to drag Tomas Berdych forward, Andy Murray bent low and lifted a rainbow lob winner over the outstretched racquet of the six-foot-five Czech.
That baffling shot combination summed up the quality control Murray delivered in today's semifinal.
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The two-time Miami Open champion brought Berdych to places he didn't want him to be, sent him scrambling for shots he couldn't quite reach and ultimately played over his head when it mattered most.
Deconstructing the big hitter with a clever mix of speeds and spins, Murray swept Berdych, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the Miami Open final for the fourth time.
"I thought I obviously started both sets well," Murray said. "That was really the difference, to be honest. We played some good points. I thought throughout the match I thought it was a pretty clean match. I felt like I just played a bit better than him. That was the difference."
Reaching his 13th career Masters final, the third-seeded Scot will face either reigning champion Novak Djokovic or titanic-serving John Isner in Sunday's final.
Murray trains on the purple Crandon Park stadium he regards as his home court. He was in no mood to roll out the welcome mat for his nemesis in a rematch of their contentious Australian Open semifinal.
"I've obviously played some good tennis here over the years. The reason for that is because I'm extremely familiar with the conditions, with the surface, the way the court plays," Murray said. "There are little things in the court that maybe players that haven't played on it that much won't really know. Because I practice on it all the time, I know how the ball bounces in certain areas and which serves work into certain spots on the court and how the ball responds off different spins. So that's why I feel comfortable on it."
They traded heavy shots and trash talk during Murray's four-set comeback victory in Melbourne. The subplot to that piece of tennis theater is the fact Murray's former coach and close friend, Dani Vallverdu, coaches Berdych.
The importance of this match and pressure it imparted was evident at the start as the pair traded three breaks to open the match. Both men knew that defending second serve would be crucial to success and Murray adopted an aggressive return posture from the start.
Stepping three feet inside the baseline to take returns on the rise, Murray broke again stamping a 3-1 lead. Jolting a 132 mph ace — his second of the game — Murray extended the lead to 4-2. Berdych skidded a second serve off the service line holding for 3-4.
Closing one of his sharpest sets of the tournament, Murray held at 15 to take a one-set lead. He served 76 percent and won 16 of 20 first-serve points in the opener.
Opening the second set with an abysmal service game, Berdych, who stubbornly kept trying to force his second serve to Murray's backhand on the ad side, scattered a double fault wide to donate the break at love.
Pouncing on a 79 mph second serve, Berdych blistered a forehand return winner down the line for break point in the next game. Murray floated a double fault deep to give the break right back for 1-1.
Masterfully mixing his spins and speeds and often forcing Berdych to bend for the low ball to his forehand. When Berdych netted a forehand, Murray scored the third straight break of the set for 2-1.
Murray's first-serve was a weapon, but his second serve, sometimes slinking into the box less than 80 mph, was suspect at times. Still, when he needed to serve effectively he did. Murray threw down a love hold for 5-3.
The variety the two-time Grand Slam champion possesses distinguishes him from Berdych, who can't bend his flat strokes into the angles Murray can produce.
Serving for a spot in the final, Murray came back from 0-30 down using a feathered forehand volley to draw even. Silding a wide serve followed by a slick backhand crosscourt, Murray earned match point. An inside out forehand ended it as the 2013 champion erupted in a scream and a Lleyton Hewitt-style lawnmower move to celebrate.