Murray gets Tursunov in Hamburg first round

Published on Sunday 11 May 2008 22:33

BRITISH No1 Andy Murray will face Russia's Dmitry Tursunov in the first round of this week's Hamburg Masters.

The 20-year-old Scot, who missed three months of last season after injuring his wrist in Hamburg, will be looking for a boost ahead of the French Open having won only three matches on clay so far this year.

Murray has faced world No31 Tursunov three times before, most recently in St Petersburg last year, winning on each occasion.

Victory for the 15th seed from Dunblane will see him meet either Gilles Simon or Xavier Malisse in the second round, with Rafael Nadal a likely third round opponent.

Meanwhile, world No3 Novak Djokovic came back from a set down to beat unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and claim the Rome Masters title yesterday.

Wawrinka, who knocked out Murray, James Blake and Andy Roddick to reach the final, had the better of the early exchanges and took the first set after breaking Djokovic in the fifth game.

The Serb hung in during a spell on the back foot and pulled himself back with a break in the middle of the second set. He then took Wawrinka's serve again at the start and end of the final set to secure the title. "This year has been like a dream for me, but I want to continue. I want to finish the year as No1 in the race," Djokovic said afterwards.

On the WTA Tour, Dinara Safina of Russia fought back from a set down for the third time in the tournament to win the German Open in Berlin a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over seventh seed Elena Dementieva.

The 22-year-old came from behind to beat world No1 Justine Henin and eight-times grand slam winner Serena Williams en route to the final, where she captured her sixth career singles title.

The 13th seed was too erratic in the first set, but came back strongly in the second with some lusty hitting and won it with an ace down the middle. She then broke twice in the deciding set and sealed victory when Dementieva netted a backhand return on the first match point after just over two hours of play on the clay at the Steffi Graf stadium.

Safina, who wins $196,900, had been victorious both times the pair had met on clay while Dementieva, 26, had won the other two of their previous four meetings.

In an all-Dutch women's final at the Scottish Open in Edinburgh yesterday, Marcella Koek lifted the trophy after a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Bibiane Schoofs.

The men's final was won by Italy's Alessandro Da Col, who beat Diego Alvarez of Argentina 6-4, 6-1.