DUBAI: Murray Beats Djokovic in 2-Sets; Faces Federer

Well, well! Andy Murray handed Novak Djokovic his first defeat of 2012, stopping the World #1's winning streak at 10 matches this year, guaranteeing that the Serbian phenom would be unable to match 2011's astonishing 42-match winning streak to begin the year.

Murray beat Djokovic in straight sets 6-2 7-5 in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships , a tournament Djokovic had won 3 years in a row (defeating Federer in 2011). The  World #4 Scottish player improved his career head-to-head to 5 wins-7 losses, with the last loss coming in a 5-set heartbreaker of the 2012 Australian Open.

Murray will face World #3 Roger Federer in the final, and the 3-time major finalist holds a caeer head-to-head edge of 8 wins, 6 losses against the 16-time major champion. Federer defeated Juan Martin del Potro for the 3rd time in 2012, improving to a record of 10 wins and 2 losses against the Argentine giant. The match was incredibly close (and high quality) with Federer coming out on top, 7-6(5) 7-6(6).

In the final I expect the match to be of quite a high quality, but either Federer will win in 3 sets, or Murray will continue his momentum and win in straight sets.