(March 29th, 2013) -- He had to bide his time, but the slow and steady play of
Andy Murray proved too much for his opponent as he advanced to the finals of the Sony Tennis Open in Miami.
But for awhile, it seemed like France's
Richard Gasquet might prove the victor in their semifinal encounter especially after Gasquet jumped out ahead in the first set thanks to mixing up his shot selection before he ripped winners - one a 103 MPH backhand - to earn a 3-0 advantage.
Murray fought to get the break back and then was able to grind Gasquet down in several long rallies in the subsequent game to earn a 5-4 lead. Gasquet incurred a time violation during his service game and on the changeover he let the umpire know he wasn't happy by telling him, "You are not my father!"
That angry outburst from the normally demure Frenchman seemed to fire up Gasquet who refocused on the task at hand. Murray couldn't close out the set and helped Gasquet get to 5-all thanks to an untimely double fault from the Scot. The match entered a tiebreak and once again it was Gasquet who put on a shotmaking show as he hit a curling forehand winner and then a pickup volley winner en route to closing out the first set.
But Murray climbed back in the second set partially due to better play on his behalf and Gasquet slowing down due in part to a lingering foot injury he picked up in Indian Wells. Thanks to a net cord, Murray went on to secure a 3-1 lead that then bloomed to 5-1 off of a perfect lob hit by the Scot.
Murray wrapped up the second set and soon Gasquet called for the trainer to deal with a blister on his foot. Murray broke Gasquet right after but then double faulted away the break in his next game.
But it was clear Murray would find a way to close out the match in three sets. He secured yet another break while Gasquet, who still displayed flashes of brilliance, was not able to match Murray down the stretch. Serving to close out the match, Murray wrapped up the 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-2 win after Gasquet netted a final shot.
Despite the loss, Gasquet took positives away from his run in Miami that will help boost his ranking to No. 9 in the world on Monday.
"Yeah, I'm trying to perform to improve my game," said Gasquet. "I work a lot. I'm playing a lot of tournaments. I played well. The confidence is going on every week, week after week, and for sure I'm very motivated with the rest of the season. I try to win this kind of match in the future."
"It was a good match," said Murray. "I could have made it easier on myself. I would have played a better game when I was serving for the first set, but I didn't. I responded well from that, you know, and obviously he struggled in the third set with his movement. But, you know, I just had to take care of my own side of the net. I did a good job of that".
Murray will now face
David Ferrer in Sunday's finals. Murray holds a tight 6-5 lead against Ferrer in their overall head to head.