Andy Murray failed to build on a bright start as eight-time champ-ion Rafael Nadal came from a set down to book his place in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Second seed Murray appeared on course for his first final at the Masters event but Nadal has good memories of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and drew on those experiences to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Murray ended a seven-match losing streak on clay against Nadal by beating him for the first time on the surface in the Madrid Open final last May and he started confidently in Monte Carlo. The Scot earned a break point in Nadal’s first service game and he continued to ask questions of the Spaniard with his strong returning game as he took a grip on the first set, going 4-2 up. He then came out on top in a long service game before breaking Nadal again to wrap up the opener.
Murray broke back immediately after losing his serve in the first game of the second set but Nadal took control with another break in the seventh and went on to comfortably serve out for the set.
Murray again lost his first service game in the decider and Nadal broke once more to take a firm grip on the match. Murray rallied at 5-2 – saving four match points – but he failed to convert two break points and Nadal completed a hard-fought victory.
Nadal, who faces Gael Monfils after he beat fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 6-3, said: “It was a great match. Andy played great tennis in the first set and I made him play even better. I needed something else – more intensity in my shots and I did that.
“The second set was close and anything could have happened, but I had more intensity and my shots were harder and longer and that was probably the difference.”
It was a better day for Murray’s brother Jamie, who along with Bruno Soares are through to the doubles final after beating second seeds Marcelo Melo and Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-4.
Fourth seeds Murray and Soares broke their opponents twice to race into a 4-0 lead and held their own serve to see out the first set.
Melo and Dodig worked their way into the contest but Murray and Soares forced a break in the ninth game and served out for the match. In the final they will play French pair Pierre- Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
“We got off to a great start – we were up 4-0 before we even had chance to blink,” said Jamie Murray. “But then they started to fight back and we had a couple of hairy moments that we had to get through. But that’s doubles and we did really well in the end.”
Meanwhile, Laura Robson recorded her best victory since wrist surgery two years ago in qualifying for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The 22-year-old beat 117th-ranked Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3, and needs two more victories to make the main draw.
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