KEY POINTS:
Britain's Andy Murray knocked out top-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-5 6-2 to set up a final meeting with Croatian Ivan Ljubicic at the US$1 million Qatar Open overnight.
Second seed Ljubicic battled his way through by outlasting Swede Robin Soderling 3-6 6-4 7-6 but Davydenko needed medical assistance
at the side of the court after injuring his shin when 4-2 up on Murray. The fourth-seeded Scot took advantage, breaking serve in the eighth and 12th games to snatch the first set.
Davydenko, visibly in discomfort, had his serve broken three times in the second.
"It was a good win. Not in every tournament do you get the chance to beat the top seed," said Murray. "He is usually very consistent, he returns well, but today he was not able to reproduce his characteristic form."
Ljubicic, who won titles in Chennai, Vienna and Zagreb in a memorable 2006 season, needed two hours six minutes to defeat Soderling. The sixth-seeded Swede gained an early advantage in the third and final set, breaking serve in the first game. The Croat broke back in the 10th game before firing five aces to take the tiebreak 7-5.
He hit 21 aces in all against Soderling's seven.
"I found it difficult to return in the first set. He was very aggressive, I had no answer," Ljubicic told reporters. "In the third I thought he relaxed a bit, maybe encouraged by the fact he won the first set easily.
"The lower-ranked players often tend to get tense when they lead against a higher-ranked player. That's what happened to him today and I took full advantage."
Soderling said: "I didn't play well in the second and third sets. Ljubicic served very well and didn't allow me to play to my potential."
* Meanwhile, former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt has been left in the lurch just a week before the Australian Open after his coach quit on Friday. Long-term friend Roger Rasheed walked out on the former Wimbledon and US Open champion saying he could see no way of achieving the results the pair were looking for.
The news could hardly have come at a worse time for Hewitt, just a day after losing in his home-town tournament in Adelaide to world No 94 Igor Kunitsyn and just over a week before the grand slam tournament he covets most.
"This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but one I felt I had no choice but to make," Rasheed said in a statement. "Within the current environment, I don't believe it is possible for us to get the results we are looking for. The timing is not ideal, but I feel that it is in both of our best interests that this decision not be delayed."
Rasheed, who has recently become a father, added he would be happy to continue coaching with another player. Rasheed was appointed Hewitt's coach in June 2003, shortly after the combustible Australian ended his 18-month tenure at the top of the world rankings.
Hewitt ended 2006 with a world ranking of 20 after a year that saw him secure just one title, at London's Queen's Club in June. Hewitt's best effort at the Australian Open, which starts on Jan 15, was a runner-up finish to Marat Safin in 2005.