Murray sees off Gasquet to reach Paris Masters semis

By Julien Pretot

PARIS (Reuters) – Andy Murray remained on course for a maiden Paris Masters title after the Briton saw off local favourite Richard Gasquet on Friday to reach the semi-finals with a 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3 victory.

The world number three allowed the French 10th seed to come back into the contest when he was let down by his first serve in the second set, but regained his momentum to book a meeting with either David Ferrer or John Isner.

World number one Novak Djokovic plays Tomas Berdych and 14-times grand slam champion Rafa Nadal faces Stan Wawrinka later on Friday (from 1830GMT).

Murray got off to a strong start, breaking in the second game on his way to a 3-0 lead.

Gasquet, however, remained aggressive, took his chances and was rewarded with a break of serve in the seventh game as his opponent grew cautious.

Gasquet, backed by the partisan Bercy crowd, went 5-3 up in the tiebreak and at 6-5 Murray saved a set point with a superb sliced passing shot.

The Scot then won four of the five remaining points to clinch the first set.

Murray was forced onto the back foot in the second and managed only six winners compared to 20 in the opening set as Gasquet easily levelled the match.

The Olympic and twice grand slam champion struggled on serve and allowed his opponent to break for 2-1 in the decider but quickly got back on track.

He stole Gasquet’s serve before breaking decisively for 5-3 and wrapped it up on serve to secure his first semi-final appearance at the Paris Masters.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)