BRISBANE  - Top seed Andy Murray brushed aside the challenge from rising Australian star Bernard Tomic on Saturday to cruise into the final of the Brisbane International in front of new coach Ivan Lendl.
With Lendl watching his new charge court-side for the first time, the world number four Murray had too much class and experience for the 19-year-old Queenslander, winning 6-3, 6-2 in just 70 minutes. The Scot will play Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov in Sunday's final.
"I saw the ball very well today, which is very important against Bernard," Murray said. "He started very well but I managed to get into a lot of long rallies towards the end of the first set and I felt good. I'm moving so much better (than at the beginning of the week) and it's such a huge part of my game -- when I'm moving well the rest of my game goes well."
Murray, who has gone for a surprise choice in tennis great Lendl as he chases his first Grand Slam at the upcoming Australian Open, endured a slow start in Brisbane and struggled in the first two rounds. But he came good in his quarter-final win over Marcos Baghdatis and was firmly on-song against home hope Tomic, firing down 13 aces. He did not face a single break point to keep the Australian under constant pressure.
Tomic battled hard but inevitably he cracked, firstly in the eighth game of the first set, when he lost serve, then again at the start of the second, handing Murray a vital advantage. Murray broke again to go into a 5-2 lead in the second set before holding serve to love to wrap up an emphatic victory.
His final opponent Dolgopolov upset second-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-4 despite needing treatment in the second set for a groin injury. Murray and Dolgopolov last met in the quarter-finals of the 2011 Australian Open, with Murray winning in four close games.
"He's been playing impressively the last two matches so I think it will be interesting," the Ukrainian said. The 23-year-old dominated Simon with his powerful serve and blistering groundstrokes. Simon had gone into the match as the favourite after cruising through his opening three rounds without dropping a set. By contrast, the third seed Dolgopolov had struggled throughout and was involved in two of the three longest matches of the tournament, including having to save three match points in his second-round clash with Igor Andreev.
But by midway through the first set it became obvious that the Frenchman was struggling with his game and was finding it hard to cope with Dolgopolov's shot-making. Simon, whose forehand misfired throughout, was broken twice in the opening set and once in the second as Dolgopolov eased his way to a deserved victory.
"I don't think Gilles was in top form today, he was missing more than usual so it was good for me," the Ukrainian said. "I played good at important moments so I was happy with the match." Dolgopolov, the world number 15, said he had briefly considered pulling out when he suffered the groin injury, but said it had improved as he played on.
"I was feeling bad for three to five games -- it's a bit scary when you are running and you have that feeling of pain, but then I had some treatment and taped it up and it started to feel better, so I was more relaxed."