Murray: Scalp worthless without trophy

Andy Murray insists his Qatar Open semi-final win over top seed Nikolay Davydenko will mean little if he fails to clinch the title today.

The 19-year-old Scot ran out a 7-5 6-2 victor over the world number three yesterday and faces powerful Croatian Ivan Ljubicic in this afternoon‘s final.

“I hope I can do well against Ljubicic, but I won’t be happy until the tournament is finished,” Murray said.

“I’ve got one more match to play.”

Murray hailed his semi-final win as one of the finest results of his young career after making light of Davydenko‘s ranking.

The Russian was second best to his opponent, who performed solidly and took advantage of a series of mistakes.

Davydenko had beaten Murray in their previous two encounters, making the latter’s victory all the sweeter.

Murray told his official website, www.andymurray.com: “That [result] is obviously one of the best of my career.

“It’s nice to win a game against someone who’s got the better of you a few times.

“He’s number three in the world, he’s a great player, one of the most consistent guys on the tour and he works really hard. He’s beaten me twice so I knew it was going to be difficult.”

Davydenko’s high world ranking was not lost on Murray, who is aware of the importance of beating the big names if he is to progress.

“To win in straight sets against a guy ranked as high as him is great because I still think there’s more to come.

“After I got the first set, I think his head went down a little bit and I felt like I was in control. I felt like I was always ahead.

“I was just trying to keep the ball to a good length, serve well, be consistent and I think I did that well.”

Ljubicic beat Robin Soderling 3-6 6-4 7-6 in the other semi-final.