Sports Thread #1 for 1/9/09: Murray Scores Another Win Over Federer, Becomes Odds Makers Favorite At Aussie Open

Photo from Hassan Ammar

Critics of Andy Murray are finding it very difficult to label concern and questions on him these days.

The world number four continued his assault towards the elite of the tennis game, scoring another win over Roger Federer to advance to the Qatar Final final against the other "Andy" on tour, Andy Roddick.

Murray's 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-2 victory over the 13 time Grand Slam champion is his fourth straight win against Federer (or third if you don't want to include his exhibition win over Federer in Abu Dhabi last week). And the win moved him into the bookmakers favorite to win the Australian Open.

For the casual fan who doesn't know that much about the sport, that would be Murray's first Grand Slam title if he were to win in Melbourne.

(And hopefully in the next few days, The Deft Volleys, a webblog dedicated to just the sports of tennis and soccer, will be released, where you can find more stories like this on that website.)