Andy Murray vs David Goffin report: Murray made to work for semi-final spot after victory in Rome

Murray was broken in the very first game but recovered to defeat Goffin 6-1, 7-5 and reach the last four of the Rome Masters

Andy Murray is through to the semi-finals of the Rome Masters after beating David Goffin (Getty)

Rarely can the first game of a match have been as misleading. David Goffin came out with all guns blazing in his Rome Masters quarter-final here against Andy Murray and broke the Scot to love in the opening game after a stunning sequence of bold returns and attacking ground strokes.

Just an hour and a half later, however, the 25-year-old Belgian was heading back to the locker room after losing the match 6-1, 7-5. Although Goffin made a fight of it during a topsy-turvy second set which featured seven breaks of serve, Murray was a deserving winner. The Scot made just 13 unforced errors in the match and in testing conditions looked sharp throughout.

Murray, who will return to No 2 in the world rankings on Monday, has now reached the semi-finals of all three of this year’s Masters Series clay-court tournaments. Tomorrow he should fancy his chances of reaching a second successive final and his first here at the Foro Italico. In the semi-finals he will play the world No 52, France’s Lucas Pouille, who went through after Juan Monaco pulled out with an injury. With the start of the French Open only nine days away, Murray could hardly be happier with his form.

“I think I'm getting rewarded now for the work that I put in over the years on this surface,” Murray said afterwards. “Obviously it took me time to feel comfortable on it. But I didn't just give up on clay and say: ‘You know what? This isn't my surface. I'm not going to prepare for it properly or train hard.’

Andy Murray in action during his victory over David Goffin (Getty)

“I have had good results at Roland Garros in the past but in the Masters Series obviously I’ve not played as well. But I have also had chances to do very well in these tournaments before.”

He added: “I didn't necessarily expect to be doing as well as I have been the last couple of years, but I deserve it because I have worked hard for it.”

Although Murray had won all three of his previous matches against Goffin, the most recent of which had secured Britain’s Davis Cup final victory at the end of last year, the Belgian is enjoying an excellent season. The world No 13 reached the semi-finals of the Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami and would have been in the top 10 if he had matched that performance here.

Murray had played his third-round match in the adjoining Pietrangeli stadium, a sunken court with marble terracing for spectators overlooked by neo-classical statues of soldiers and sportsmen. The quarter-final was played in the very different environment of the main stadium, which is a shining example of modern Italian architecture. With its steep sides and comparatively small court area, it can generate a superb atmosphere.

Once again there had been overnight rain, but the weather had brightened up by mid-afternoon. However, the wind that swirled around the stadium made the conditions difficult for both men. On a number of occasions the players had to wait for the wind to die down after clay dust blew in their faces.

For Murray it was a case of waiting for Hurricane David to subside. Goffin started as he had left off the previous evening, when he recorded the first 6-0, 6-0 victory of his professional career to beat Tomas Berdych in just 48 minutes in the third round.

David Goffin was unable to halt Andy Murray's run to the Rome Masters semi-final (Getty)

Murray did not have to wait long, though it had more to do with his own brilliance than any failings on Goffin’s part. From 30-30 in the second game Murray hit a thunderous backhand cross-court winner and then an equally potent backhand return to complete the break back.

The Scot had hit one poor drop shot in the opening game but quickly rediscovered the touch he had shown against Jeremy Chardy the previous evening. Goffin is quicker than the Frenchman but repeatedly struggled to pick up Murray’s well disguised and beautifully executed drop shots. Murray took the opening set in just 27 minutes, by which time he had made only two unforced errors.

Nevertheless, it was Goffin who made the first break of the second set to go 3-1 up. With both players going for their shots and hitting big returns, there was only one hold of serve in a remarkable sequence of eight games.

At 5-5 Murray made the last and definitive breakthrough as Goffin, looking increasingly tired under Murray’s relentless pressure, missed three backhands in a row. In the following game Murray converted his first match point when Goffin hit a backhand return long.

“The conditions were very, very difficult, very windy,” Murray said. “It was changing direction all the time. There was obviously a lot of the clay getting blown off the court as well. It's not always that easy to move when it's like that because it's changing every point. Sometimes, because you put clay on it, the end changes, so it's a little bit more normal and then two points later there's no clay on the court at all and it's like a hard court.”

Murray said it would mean a lot to him to reach the final of such an historic tournament as this. “I haven't been in this position in these tournaments very often,” he said. “Even in Monte-Carlo I think I had only been to the semis once before this year. They are great tournaments with a lot of history.”

Murray celebrates his victory over Goffin (Getty)

Pouille, Murray’s next opponent, had never reached a Masters Series quarter-final before this week. The 22-year-old Frenchman is regarded as a player with great potential, though fortune has been on his side here. He lost in the final round of qualifying but got into the main draw as a “lucky loser” after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pulled out through injury.

Murray said: “This week he's been a bit fortunate as the lucky loser and maybe the withdrawal today, but he's very good. By the end of this year he'll be up close to the top 20 in the world, potentially higher.”

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares were beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarter-finals of the doubles. Victory for Murray would have seen the Scot return to the world No 1 position but instead he will go up one place to No 3 next week. Nevertheless he is only 55 points off the No 1 position and has only 180 points to defend at the French Open.