Andy Murray tames Novak Djokovic

Andy Murray beat world No 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2 7-5 to set up summit clash with Roger Federer at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday. In the second semifinal,  Federer beat Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6(5) 7-6(6).

Earlier, Djokovic started strongly, holding his opening two service games to love but from 2-2 a pumped-up Murray then won seven games in a row to claim the first set and go 3-0 up in the second on a balmy evening in Dubai.

Murray served for the match at 5-3 and nerves got the better of the world No 4, double-faulting as Djokovic earned two break points. A netted backhand from the Briton then enabled Djokovic to pull it back to 5-4 and the set appeared to be heading for a tie-break. However, Murray roused himself to break again and seal victory after the Serb clubbed a forehand into the net.

Bhupathi Bopanna in final
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, who need to improve their rankings to earn a direct entry into the London Olympics, stormed into the summit clash with a straight sets win on Friday.

The fourth-seeded Indian pair of Bhupathi and Bopanna edged past the giant-killing Austrian pair of Julian Knowle and Alexanderin Peya 7-6(2) 7-6(7) in the semifinals. Knowle and Peya had shocked the top seed Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic in the quarterfinals.

Either Bopanna, ranked 11th, or Bhupathi (15) need to be in the top 10 in the ATP doubles rankings to have a direct entry in the Olympics competition. A top-10 player has the liberty to choose his partner, irrespective of his ranking.