Andy Murray Crushes Lucas Pouille to Cruise Into First Rome Masters Final
Andy Murray reached his second clay-court final in two weeks and will play the winner of the match between top-ranked Novak Djokovic and sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori in the Rome Masters final
Highlights
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Murray beat Pouille to reach the Rome Masters final
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This is Murray's second clay-court final after Madrid Open
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He will face either Djokovic or Nishikori in the final
Britain's Andy Murray qualified for his first Rome Masters final on Saturday after cruising past Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-2, 6-1 in their rain-interrupted semifinal.
Murray, the second seed in the Italian capital, swept past Belgium's David Goffin on Friday to make the last four for only the second time after 2011.
Pouille, a lucky loser, had reached his first Masters semifinal on a walkover after quarterfinal opponent Juan Monaco of Argentina pulled out on Friday before their match.
Pouille had caused a shock when he ousted Spanish ninth seed David Ferrer in the third round on Thursday.
But facing world number two Murray was a step too far for the 22-year-old, who had 25 unforced errors in a one-sided encounter that was interrupted early in the second set.
Murray could now meet world number one Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final if the Serbian star overcomes Japan's Kei Nishikori in the second semifinal later Saturday.
Djokovic beat Murray in the final of the Madrid Masters last Sunday.