MASON - August 18, 2006 - The Andys put on a show for fans in Cincinnati Wednesday night, but it was Andy Roddick who came away with the top rating. Roddick defeated British sensation Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4 in an exciting 1-hour, 35-minute match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.
Behind a 16 ace-barrage and aggressive play, Roddick picked up his first win against Murray. In their two previous match ups this year (San Jose and Wimbledon), Murray downed the American in straight sets. Murray, who played 14 matches in 17 days, said he was only about 50 percent going into tonight’s match.
“I wasn't going into the match expecting to win tonight,” said Murray, who had the same sentiments before his match earlier this week against World No.1 Roger Federer, whom he defeated. “I considered pulling out when I woke up this morning and about a half an hour before I went on, but I felt like I had one hour where I could compete with him.”
“I had a few chances at the start of the first set. If I was able to serve a little bit better and put a bit more pressure on him by winning my service games more comfortably, then it could have been a tighter match. But, you know, was maybe just a little bit too tired today.”
Roddick is into the final four of an ATP Masters Series event for the first time this year and is one step closer to claiming his first title of 2006. With the win, Roddick advances to his fourth consecutive semifinal in Cincinnati, becoming the seventh player in tournament history to do so. Roddick improves to 22-5 here, which moves him ahead of Roscoe Tanner to take over the No.10 spot on the list of most match wins in Cincinnati.
“I'm floored by the amount of support I get here,” said Roddick, the No.9 seed. “It's pretty humbling. It's definitely nice knowing I'm going out there for a night match, and I know the crowd's going go be out there. I know what to expect and I can use it for energy. This is fastly turning into one of my favorite places to play.”
In the last quarterfinal of the day, No.13 seed Fernando Gonzalez defeated No.10 seed David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 to return to the Cincinnati semifinals for the first time since 2002. Gonzalez, one of the hottest players on tour this summer, blasted five aces and won five of six break points. Gonzalez scored his last break against Ferrer in the second set to lead 5-4, and went on to serve out the match in the next game.
Gonzalez will next face Roddick for a slot in the final. Roddick leads the series 5-2, with Gonzalez’s last win against the American coming in the 2004 Olympics.
