Marathon man Murray eyes first claycourt title in Munich

BERLIN (Reuters) - World number three Andy Murray remained on course for a first claycourt title after he reached the Munich Open final with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Spain's Roberto Bautista-Agut on Saturday. The 27-year-old Scot, who earlier in the day came from a set down to beat Czech Lukas Rosol 4-6 6-3 6-2 after Friday's quarter-final was postponed due to rain, will now face local favourite Philipp Kohlschreiber. Murray, who also played and lost his doubles match later in the day, looked in fine form as he reached his first tour final on the slow surface ahead of the season's second grand slam, the French Open, later this month. He made a bad start against the world number 16, falling a break and 30-0 behind and facing two more break points. But Murray dug deep to win the next five games, including 14 consecutive points, to go 5-3 up. He squandered four set points on the Spaniard's serve before clinching it on his own a game later. With new coach Jonas Bjorkman watching in the stands, Murray again grabbed an early break and held on for a straight-sets victory. Kohlschreiber, who had an equally draining day, twice needed to come from a set down, first in his quarter-final win over fourth seed David Goffin and then in his 2-6 6-1 6-4 victory against Gerald Melzer of Austria. Bavarian Kohlschreiber, world number 26, will attempt to win his third crown in front of a home crowd after wins in Munich in 2007 and 2012. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)