Murray into St Petersburg final

Murray is attempting to win his fifth title of the year

Defending champion Andy Murray eased into the St Petersburg Open final by beating world number 16 Fernando Verdasco 6-0 6-3.

The semi-final encounter was a repeat of last year's final - which also saw Murray triumph over the Spaniard.

He now must beat Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev, ranked 150th in the world, in Sunday's final to retain his title.

"I was feeling very comfortably throughout the match as he looked weaker than me today," Murray said.

The 21-year-old Scot, who is the same age as his final opponent, added: "I played Golubev several times when we were younger. He is a tough opponent and I expect a tough match tomorrow."

Golubev beat Romania's Victor Hanescu 6-3 6-0 in the first semi-final.

Despite a gruelling quarter-final against Janko Tipsaveric, Murray cruised through the first set and although Verdasco broke Murray's serve to level at 2-2 in the second, the Spaniard was undermined by a succession of unforced errors and double faults.

606: DEBATE Your thoughts on Murray's form

Murray, who is enjoying a superb run of form, is bidding for his fifth title of a year which also saw him reach the US Open final in September.

He arrived in Russia having sealed back-to-back Masters Series titles in Cincinnati and, last week, Madrid.

The Briton, meanwhile, has been given a tricky draw for next week's Paris Masters.

As the fourth seed he receives a bye through to the second round, at which point he will meet Marcos Baghdatis or Sam Querrey.

The Scot is then likely to come up against Juan Martin del Potro or David Nalbandian in the quarter-finals and Rafael Nadal in the last four.