Andy Murray brushed aside a rain-delayed start and a
brief first-set weather interruption to hammer out a quick 6-2, 6-1
defeat of Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Saturday and reach a first final
at the Rome Masters.
The rout on heavy clay after a day of rain, took just 59 minutes as
the second-seeded Scot reached a Masters 1000 title match for the
second straight week. Murray was beaten last Sunday for the Madrid
title by Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian top seed was playing a semi-final later against Japan's
Kei Nishikori.
The one-way procession by world number three Murray was interrupted
for a few minutes in the seventh game of the opening set as the Scot
led 4-2, 40-0.
Pouille got as far as the semis thanks to a run of good luck, having
been inserted into the main draw as a lucky loser when compatriot
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pulled from the pre-French Open tune-up.
The number 52 then got a walkover when quarter-final opponent Juan
Monaco withdrew injured before their match.
Pouille was only the second lucky loser to reach a Masters 1000 semi
after Swede Thomas
Johansson in Toronto, 2004.
The challenger was no match for an inspired Murray in their encounter
at the Foro Italico, where the start of play was delayed almost four
hours due to the weather.
Murray is through to the final without the loss of a set. He finished
the match with his fifth ace and broke Pouille four times.