Associated Press

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Murray broke Montanes in the first game and again the ninth to help clinch the first set, and then raced to a 4-0 ahead in the second in his first event in six weeks. The Scot last competed in Davis Cup in September, then was sidelined by a wrist injury.

Murray is gunning for his sixth title of the year and first since August. He will meet another Spaniard, 2004 Valencia champion Fernando Verdasco, on Saturday.

Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko will play fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the other semifinal.

The fourth-seeded Verdasco eliminated seventh-seeded countryman Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-2, evening their career series at 4-4.

Verdasco looked in command in the first set and an early break in the second put him ahead. A close line call in the sixth game of the second unsettled Robredo and a crosscourt forehand gave Verdasco another break point, which he converted before serving out the match.

The victory boosted Verdasco's hopes of securing one of the two remaining berths for the ATP Tour finals this month in London. Davydenko improved his chances by beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (3), but another contender, fifth-seeded Gilles Simon of France, was set back in falling to Youzhny 6-4, 6-4.