Andy Murray leads Britain into Hopman Cup final
Andy Murray started the 2010 tennis season in great form and has lead Britain into the final of the Hopman Cup with a 2-1 win over Russia.
In the final they will face Spain.
Murray destroyed Igor Andreev 6-1 6-0 while Laura Robson lost 6-4 6-0 to Elena Dementieva.
Murray and Robson team up to defeat the Russians 6-4 6-7 10-6 in the deciding mixed doubles.
“I have to say thanks to Laura because she played great,” Murray said. “In the mixed, the guy is supposed to try to dominate and help the girl but every time I tried that we lost the point, so I left it to her after that.”
Robson impressed against Dementieva but once the Russian had taken the first set, she cruised through the second to take the win.
Murray´s performance against Andreev was very impressive.
Murray hammered serves, took his returns early and began to try out a few shots, romping through the first set and then blitzing Andreev in the second.
“I played really well and didn’t make too many mistakes. I got off to a good start in all of the matches this week, which helps and settled me down a little bit. Today was definitely the best I’ve played so far,” Murray said.
“You’ve just got to keep going for your shots and try a few things out against the net quite a lot at the start of the match. I started playing really aggressively on return of serve and everything went well. I was just happy that all the things I worked on the practice court were good.”
“I was very lucky because I was one of the spectators but I didn’t have to pay for the ticket,” Andreev joked after the match.
The mixed doubles was another story. Britain led 6-4 4-1 but Russia fought back to win the second set and force a match tiebreak.
Murray and Robson held their nerve winning it 10-6 to secure a their place in the final.
Dementieva was tremendously impressed with Robson but was glad to get the win.
“She’s playing unbelievably well for 15 years old and very enthusiastic on the court – you know trying to hit as hard as possible. She was very professional so I was very impressed with her,” Dementieva said.
“It’s been a good week here in Perth. I’ve had some good games and some good matches. I’m really enjoying my time here.”
About playing Robredo in the final, Murray said:
“I’ve played Tommy a few times. Twice last year I beat him and he won once against me two or three years ago. It will be a tough match, he has played great here. Laura definitely has a chance to win her match and I definitely want to win the tournament.”
Source Yahoo/Tournament website
Photo Getty Images
