Murray Manages Djokovic To End Serbian’s Title Defense

TORONTO :Andy Murray cut short the title defense of Novak Djokovic Friday, the eighth-seeded Scot stunning the third-seeded Serbian 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) to reach the semi-finals of the Toronto Masters.

Murray made quick work of Djokovic - who beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal en route to the title last year - wrapping up an impressive victory in 1hr 44min.

Murray will next face either second-seeded Nadal or French 10th seed Richard Gasquet, who played the last quarter-final later Friday.

“This is the best I’ve played, he’s always beaten me badly,” said the satisfied Murray, now 1-4 against his rival from junior days.

“He really played good, he made me run, but I defended well. It was awesome to play in this atmosphere of a packed house.

“He’s one of the best players, you can’t make many errors against him and expect to win,” added Murray, who saved a set point in the 10th game of the second set. “If he had converted that, the momentum could have changed.”

The Serbian third seed played well off his best, committing more than 30 unforced errors in an effort which left him looking far from a threat for the summer hardcourt season.

Murray twice gave back breaks in the second set before finally squeezing into a tiebreaker, which he dominated to claim the victory on his third match point.

French giantkiller Gilles Simon will move into the world top 20 next week after reaching the semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Croatian Marin Cilic.

Simon, currently ranked 22nd in the world, knocked out top seed Roger Federer in the second round here to follow his title triumph at Indianapolis last weekend.

The 23-year-old from Nice advanced to a meeting with German Nicolas Kiefer, who moved closer to his first final since 2005 by defeating James Blake 6-1, 6-2.

Kiefer, 31, last won a trophy in October of 2000, and missed a year from mid-2006 to 2007 with a wrist injury.

“It was a short day in the office,” he said. “It’s just great, a good win for me.”

Simon admitted he’s running out of gas after winning his ninth match in a row, with three service breaks from 15 chances.

“It was really hot for me on court, but it was a great fight again, a great match,” said Simon. “I’m happy to be in the semi-final. But I’m tired. In the second set I just kept fighting on every point. The start of the match was hard for me, Marin played very well.”

Swiss-based Simon improved his season record to 30-16 as he won his 19th match of 2008 on hardcourt. The win was his third over teenager Cilic, who stunned sixth seed and 2003 winner Andy Roddick in the third round.

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