Murray crushes Blake

He will play world number two Roger Federer in the penultimate stage of the showcase tournament.

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko faces world number one Rafael Nadal in the second semi after he beat American Andy Roddick 6-4 6-4.

It was Roddick's first match under new coach Larry Stefanki.

World number four Murray displayed a stunning array of groundstrokes from the baseline as he dominated Blake, breaking him twice in each set and wrapping up the match in less than an hour.

The Scot, who beat Federer three times in 2008 in four matches, said: "I was playing James for the first time in three years and I expected it to be a tough match, but I played much better than I expected to.

"This is the first match of the year and I am delighted with how I played.

"I am sure I will have a fun match with Roger. I did quite well against him last year, but this is a new season.

"With all the top players here, this is a great preparation for the Australian Open later this month."

Roddick had only one break point against Davydenko in the entire match, which he failed to convert. His normally reliable first serve was also a bit off target, but the American was not too worried about the loss.

"Nikolay played a great game. I could have done better, but this was just my first match of the year. Hopefully, the game will be much better than what it was today," said Roddick.

The knockout tournament is worth 250,000 dollars to the winner on Saturday evening.