Andy Murray ready to up the heat on Federer in desert sun

Andy Murray is eager to lay down a marker for the new season when he takes on Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi today.

The British No1 enjoys a 4-2 head-to-head record against the Swiss and won three of their four matches last year - though Federer did deny him a first slam title in the US Open in September.

With the Australian Open little more than a fortnight away, Murray hopes to further improve his record against the world No2.

"I did quite well against Roger last year, but this is a new season," he said. "With all the top players here, this is a great preparation for the Australian Open."

The 21-year-old booked his place in the last four with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 victory over world No10 James Blake.

Displaying a stunning array of ground strokes from the baseline, Murray dominated the American.

He 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. I am delighted with how I played in my first match of the year."

Nikolay Davydenko goes into today's other semi-final, against world No1 Rafael Nadal, buoyed by a 6-4, 6-4 win over America's Andy Roddick.

The Russian looked sharp against the world No8, who said: "Nikolay played a great game."