Andy Murray: world No. 1 has chance at title in Dubai Championships

Sept 7, 2016; New York, NY, USA;Andy Murray of Great Britain reacts after being broken in the 5th set by Kei Nishikori of Japan on day ten of the 2016 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Sept 7, 2016; New York, NY, USA;Andy Murray of Great Britain reacts after being broken in the 5th set by Kei Nishikori of Japan on day ten of the 2016 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Andy Murray defeats Lucas Pouille in his semifinals match at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The world No. 1 is now in the finals at Dubai.

Andy Murray faces Fernando Verdasco in the finals at Dubai.

The world No. 1 defeated French professional tennis player Lucas Pouille in the semifinals at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Murray won the semifinals match 7-5, 6-1.

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The world No. 1 overcame a hard fought first set against Pouille to cruise through the second and win the semifinals match. After losing to Novak Djokovic in the finals at the Qatar Open, Murray is eyeing his first ATP singles title in 2017.

He faces Verdasco who defeated Robin Haase in his semifinals match. Verdasco won in three sets. Now, the Spanish tennis player has a chance at glory in Dubai. The 33-year-old Verdasco has won just a single match in his career against Murray.

Murray is 12-1 against Verdasco throughout their careers.

The two players last met in Paris of 2016 where Murray took the match in three sets. The finals at the Dubai Tennis Championships is a chance for Murray to reassert himself on tour. While the upset would be huge for Verdasco, there is no doubt that Andy Murray understands the importance of the match.

After both Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka were upset in earlier round matches, the path to glory became wide open for the world No. 1. Dubai is Murray’s first competitive ATP singles tournament since his fourth round exit from Melbourne Park. Stay tuned to see how the finals match between Murray and Verdasco unfolds.

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