Murray overpowers Davydenko to reach second successive Doha final

The 20-year-old Scot was at his most clinical as he beat world No 4 Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-3 to reach this afternoon's final, in which he will take on Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka.

The world No 36 is his country's second player behind Roger Federer, but reasons beyond national affiliation will make the world champion take note of the result.

Murray has established himself as the early season form horse at a time when players try to get their games in order for the Australian Open the week after next.

He looks ready to mount a serious challenge at Melbourne Park.

Should he beat 22-year-old Wawrinka today, he will start the year's opening Grand Slam having regained his place in the world's top 10, a remarkable effort considering the British No 1 missed so much of the past 12 months.

While Murray against Davydenko was a repeat of last year's semi, the final will be different, as the man who defeated the Scot in the 2007 edition, Ivan Ljubicic, fell to Wawrinka on the other side of the draw.

Qatar hosts the biggest of the three tournaments on the global ATP Tour this week and to win it Murray will have to reverse a 0-2 record against the Swiss, despite being ranked 25 places higher.

Murray is confident of coming through against a player whose game he knows well. He said: "We often practise together and we get on well. Maybe I'm a bit more experienced in finals than Stan. It would be nice to start the year off with a win."

He lost to Wawrinka in a Davis Cup tie on clay early in his career and at the Miami Masters in 2006 but, as Davydenko will testify, Murray is a far more complete player these days.

This was a comfortable victory, but at least the 26-year-old Russian was the first opponent this week not to concede a love set to Murray.

The Scot said: "Davydenko started off well and I had to do a lot of running, which I'm used to playing against him. I know that my game is frustrating for him."

Yesterday might have constituted something of a grudge match given that Davydenko, albeit with his tenuous grasp of English, had expressed outrage late last year at Murray's opinion that some match-fixing was going on in the game.

Their apparently warm words when shaking hands at the net after the match, however, suggested otherwise.

Davydenko's match against Martin Vassallo Arguello at the Poland Open in August, which attracted irregular betting patterns, is still under investigation.

The facts are apparently proving hard to establish, as they are bound to be in these cases. Do not be surprised if he is cleared of any charges when the independent investigators present their findings.

Regardless of that issue, the Russian is a player of high quality and to overcome him Murray left many of the more extravagant shots in his locker.

Initially, Ruthless: he struggled against the consistency of Davydenko's serve and trailed 3-1 after being broken in the first game of the match.

He levelled for 3-3 then siezed his chance at 5-4, forcing a forehand error on his second set point after conceding the first by missing a forehand of his own.

Davydenko unravelled somewhat after that and was broken for 3-1 when Murray drew him into the net, a zone he instinctively dislikes, and extracted a succession of volleying errors.

There was no capitulation by Davydenko and Murray had to work hard, his strokes more relentless rather than dazzling.

Although his serve was solid enough, it was not as lethal as it had been against Thomas Johansson earlier in the week. After today's final Murray will head straight to Melbourne, where Federer is among those waiting for him in the Kooyong Classic.