DUBAI — World No. 1 Andy Murray showed no signs of weariness to ease into the Dubai Tennis Championships final where he will be chasing his 45th career title.
The top seed defeated seventh-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille 7-5, 6-1 and will face veteran Spaniard Fernando Verdasco who broke three times in the deciding set to defeat Robin Haase 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-1 in the other semifinal.
Verdasco, 33 and ranked 35th, has managed just one win from 13 meetings with Murray, who will be playing his second final of the season after losing to Novak Djokovic in Doha at the start of January.
For Murray, a leisurely first set took 67 minutes to complete Friday, with Pouille coming from a break down but losing serve for 4-4 on a double-fault.
Murray broke in the final game to secure the match lead. The Scot then shifted up a gear, and ran out the winner with a 27-minute second set.
Murray's win improved his 2017 record to 11-2 as he seeks a 45th career title — he lost the 2012 final in Dubai to Roger Federer, his best performance at the event.
The Wimbledon champion returned to the court just 24 hours after his epic quarterfinal win over Philipp Kohlschreiber which saw the world No. 1 save seven match points in a 31-minute, 38-point second set tiebreak.
Verdasco won his last trophy 11 months ago on clay in Bucharest and was a Doha semifinalist at the start of the season.
"It was a really tough match, I needed to be there till the last point," Verdasco said.
"I'm really happy to be in the final, to win this match.
Murray saved seven match-points in a 31-minute tiebreak that stretched to 38 points before he finally subdued Kohlschreiber 6-7(4), 7-6(18), 6-1 to reach the semifinals Thursday.
The Briton finally bagged the second set tiebreak on his eighth set point to level the match. The ATP said no men’s tour-level match has featured a tiebreak with more than 38 points since 1991 — six have finished 20-18.
In the other quarterfinal match, Pouille beat Federer’s Russian conqueror Evgeny Donskoy 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(2).
Linette in semis
Magda Linette served up the biggest upset of the WTA Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur Friday, after the Pole saw off fifth seed Duan Ying-Ying 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-1 and move into the semifinals.
Standing in her way to the final is Japan's Nao Hibino, who saved five break points en route to a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 success over Holland's Lesley Kerkhove.
Australia's Ashleigh Barty was another standout performer, the qualifier once again displaying another fine performance to oust China's Zhang Kai-Lin 6-0, 7-6 (7/2).
The world No. 158 will contest her semifinal against China's Han Xinyun, who upset her sixth seed compatriot Wang Qiang 6-7 (7/4), 6-2, 6-4.
Sharapova to plead case for French Open wild card
Maria Sharapova will meet with French Tennis Federation (FFT) chief Bernard Giudicelli to plead her case for a wild card at Roland Garros as the two-time champion makes her return from a doping ban.
Giudicelli said Friday that he had agreed to meet the Russian superstar despite his initial reservations after her agent wrote to the FFT requesting discussions.
This year's French Open runs from May 28 until June 11. — Agencies
