On October 18, 2008, Andy Murray defeated Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the Madrid semi-final to advance to the second consecutive Masters 1000 final after Cincinnati. The Brit had lost the first four Masters 1000 semi-finals, and that changed at Cincinnati 2008 when he defeated Ivo Karlovic before beating Novak Djokovic for the first crown at that level.
Two months later, Andy secured a spot in another Masters 1000 final in Madrid, beating no. 2 and the 2006 champion and last year’s finalist Roger Federer. It was the fifth meeting between Murray and Federer, and the Briton achieved the third victory thanks to a better performance in the final stages, adding the last three games to advance to the title clash.
The youngster delivered fury on serve, hitting 14 aces and grabbing 85% of points on the first serve, fending off two out of three break opportunities to keep the pressure on Roger.
The Swiss took advantage of that break in the first set and had to delve into his games, fending off seven of the nine break opportunities and failing to match the opponent’s numbers at the end. Therefore, Roger missed the opportunity to reach the third consecutive final in Madrid and fight for the last indoor title at this event before switching to clay starting in 2009.
Andy had more winners, fewer unforced errors and more forced errors, dominating Roger on short rallies and keeping in touch on longer rallies to seal the deal and stay on the title course.
It took 12 minutes to complete the first five games with a solid performance from the servers before Roger forced Andy’s error to carve out a break opportunity at 3-2. Murray repelled it but could not do the same with the next one, adding a forehand error to suffer a break and push Roger 4-2 to the front.
In Madrid 2008, Andy Murray defeated Roger Federer
The Swiss defended himself from a break opportunity in the next with a winning serve and closed the game with another to cement the lead and conclude the first set at 5-3 after 31 minutes.
The Brit had to find something extra on the return in set number two to stay in contention, and he did so in the fourth game when he tamed the opponent’s serve and scored a break with a well-built attack that sent him 3-1 up. .
Murray confirmed the lead with a winning backhand and delivered another comfortable serve turn to move 5-2 up front before clinching the set with three winners in the ninth game to send the match into a decider.
The Briton stepped in from set number two, grabbing the ball early and dropping just four points on serve, ready for more late in the game. Still, Federer made the first hit after Murray’s loose volley in the second game, creating a break opportunity for Andy to fight back with a quick attack to pick up momentum and create three chances on the return a few minutes later.
Federer erased those with three winners, brought the game home and got a huge boost before the return game that could have proved problematic for Andy. Instead, Murray hit four service winners to level the score at 2-2 and earned a break opportunity in the next, squandering it when his backhand landed long but stayed on the right track after four more winners in game six that they kept it safe at 3-3.
Federer held on with ease in the seventh game and created a 30-0 lead on the return, missing a forehand that could have given him two break opportunities!
In the end, Andy closed the game to stay on the positive side of the scoreboard and closed the score at 5-5 after an ace in game ten, shifting the pressure back to Roger’s part of the net.
The Swiss landed a forehand in the eleventh game to offer his opponent two break opportunities, saving them before Andy converted the third after forcing a no error.
2. The Brit sealed the deal when Federer scored a setback in game 12 to advance to the second consecutive Masters 1000 final.
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