Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic to clash for Cincinnati title; Maria Sharapova vs Jelena Jankovic

In a bizarre semifinal match between world No. 4 Andy Murray and No. 7 Mardy Fish in front of a sell-out crowd that featured six service breaks in the second set on Saturday afternoon at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, the 2008 champion from Scotland was able to get past the in-form American, 6-3, 7-6(8), in two hours and 18 minutes. The win marked Murray’s 300th career ATP tour-level match win.

“I was struggling physically early on in the second set,” said Murray. “That’s frustrating for me, because that’s something I haven’t struggled with for quite a long time. I need to get that better before the US Open. I need to get stronger. I haven’t played many matches in the past few weeks and this was the first tough one.”

Following several hard fought games to open the match that seemed to last an eternity, Murray took a 3-1 lead after breaking serve in the fourth game and never looked back. Murray, who owns six ATP World Tour singles titles, was very steady returning serve despite big serving from Fish. He was also consistent on his serve, winning 30 of 40 first serve points, 47 percent of second serve points, as well as hitting five aces and saving all three break points he faced. Fish, who earlier in the week clinched the Olympus US Open Series Bonus Challenge after winning the title in Atlanta and reaching the finals in Los Angeles and Montreal, dropped just five first service points, but struggled mightily on his return of serve, winning just 13 of 38 second serve points.

In an entertaining second set that seemed to sway in every direction possible, both players opened the set by dropping serve. With the set tied at 2-all, both players again exchanged service breaks again, four consecutive games this time. Murray, who lost last week in Montreal in his opening round match to South African Kevin Anderson, held serve to level the second set at 5-all, but then wasted a triple break point opportunity in the following game. Fish eventually got out of the jam to hold serve, but then failed to convert on a couple break points on Murray’s serve that would have given him the set.

The second set headed to a tiebreak where Murray seemed to be irritated by the back of his legs and was constantly grab them after each point. The American held a set point at 7-6 but couldn’t close things out. With Murray up 8-7, the 24-year-old former Grand Slam finalist seemed to have wrapped the match up with a winner down the line, but Fish challenged the call on a whim. Hawkeye overruled the call by millimeters. Fish, a former two-time finalist in Cincinnati including in 2010, smashed a forehand wide to hand Murray the victory in front of a very enthusiastic crowd at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

“I’ve played great all week. I beat a lot of good players this week,” said Fish. “I’ve just been trying to solidify my spot, trying to make guys think that I belong, and trying to convince myself I belong as well. It’s been great. Semi-finals of a huge event like this is a good result for anyone. So it’s been two great weeks. I’ll take two, three, four days off and regroup and get away from the court and then get back mid next week.”

In the final set, both players struggled on first serve percentage, but Murray was able to win 74 percent of first serve points compared to just 29 of 46 by Fish. Murray also won 46 percent of first serve return points and 50 percent on second serve return points, while Fish only won 10 of 40 first serve return points and 20 of 38 on second serve return points. The Scot, who is known to be most proficient on hard courts, converted on 4 of 15 break point opportunities, while Fish broke serve on 3 or 9 chances.

“Mardy hadn’t been broken all tournament and I broke him three times in the second set,” said Murray. “I served better in the tie-break. I’m glad I managed to pull through.”

Next up for Murray is a Sunday afternoon date with world No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic for the title, a rematch of the 2008 Cincinnati final in which the Scot won, 7-6(4), 7-6(5). Djokovic advanced to his 10th final of the year and third Cincinnati title match after rallying from 3-5 down to defeat No. 8 seed Tomas Berdych 7-5, ret. The Czech veteran was forced to retire after the opening set due to a right shoulder injury.

“It’s great I’m in another final tomorrow,” said Djokovic. It’s a great achievement. Tomorrow I’ll try to get another title.

Djokovic, who owns a 6-3 lifetime series edge against Murray, is currently 57-1 on the season including nine singles titles. Tomorrow’s final will mark just the ninth time a world No. 1 has reached the final in Cincinnati since 1995. The top ranked players own a remarkable 7-1 record in the title match.

The match-up tomorrow also marks the 10th time a Cincinnati final features two players who rank in the ATP World Tour Top 5 since 1973, and the first to do so since then top-ranked Roger Federer held off a late charge by No. 4 Novak Djokovic to defeat the Serb in straight sets.

On the women’s side, No. 4 seed Maria Sharapova overcome an extremely slow start and rough serving performance to advance to her second straight final in Cincinnati by defeating No. 2 seed Vera Zvonareva 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in just over two hours. The match featured a combined nine aces, 17 double faults and 13 service breaks. The Russian, who is currently, engaged to NBA player Sasha Vujacic, lost to world No. 2 Kim Clijsters last year in a rain interrupted final. The fan favorite Sharapova will next face 2009 Western & Southern Open champion and fellow former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic for the title. Jankovic defeated rising German star Andrea Petkovic 7-6(4), 6-1 in 94 minutes.

Sharapova owns a 5-1 series edge against the Serbian, including 2-1 in finals, as well as winning most recently in Tokyo in 2009. Jankovic, a 12-time WTA singles champion, is looking for her first title of 2011 after falling short in the championship match in Monterrey. Currently ranked No. 7 in the world, Sharapova is looking to become the fourth Top 10 player to win the title in Cincinnati in five years. Sharapova, who is the seventh Russian in eight years competing in the Cincinnati final, owns 23 career WTA singles titles, including Rome in May.