Andy Murray has set up a meeting with Rafael Nadal in the Madrid Open final after beating Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-4.
Murray was quick to show the form which earned him his first clay-court title in Munich last weekend as he looked comfortable on serve and asked regular questions of Nishikori, who struggled to find his rhythm in the first set.
After saving a break point on his own serve, Murray moved ahead with a break in the seventh game and another poor service game from the fourth seed followed as the Scot clinched the opening set.
Despite taking the lead, Murray was finding it tough to dictate the tempo with his first serve and Nishikori sensed an opening early in the second when he converted break point at the second attempt in the third game.
The response from the second seed was immediate as he broke back in the next game, before holding to love to close the door on his Japanese rival.
Nishikori managed to save break point in the eighth game, but Murray won his final three service games without dropping a point as his serve delivered at the vital time.
A couple of unforced errors handed match point to Murray, and the British number one's victory was secure when Nishikori sent a forehand into the net.
Callum Mulvihill
