Sela into Delray Beach semis, Federer tops Murray in Dubai

Dudi Sela makes his first ATP Tour semifinal in more than two years with a victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach International in Florida.

By ALLON SINAI
Dudi Sela 390 R (photo credit: REUTERS)
Dudi Sela 390 R
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Dudi Sela progressed to his first ATP Tour semifinal in more than two years on Friday, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 to reach the last four of the Delray Beach International in Florida.
The 26-year-old Israeli, ranked No. 75 in the world, faced Marinko Matosevic (173) in the semis in a match which ended after press time on Saturday, looking to reach just his second career ATP Tour final and first since the China Open in September 2008.
Elsewhere, Roger Federer swatted aside Andy Murray 7-5 6-4 to win the Dubai Championships on Saturday, the Swiss maestro’s 72nd tour title, as he abandoned the baseline to dominate from the net.
The 16-times Grand Slam winner may no longer be favorite for the top prizes but few can match his longevity or dedication on the grueling men’s tour and the 30-year-old claimed his fifth Dubai title without dropping a set all week.
Third-seeded Murray, who beat world number one Novak Djokovic on Friday, went into Saturday’s final with an 8-6 winning record against number two seed Federer, although the Swiss has won both of their Grand Slam encounters.
Murray was strangely lackluster against Federer and struggled to get his service going with his first serve percentage dipping from a modest 58 in his opening four service games to a lamentable 38 over the next five.
On Friday, Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich lost 6-4, 3- 6, 10-4 to Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the semifinals