Unstoppable Murray retains title

Andy Murray thrashed Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev to retain his St Petersburg Open title and continue his stunning run of form.

The Briton swept to a 6-1 6-1 victory - his 23rd win in 25 matches - to secure his fifth tournament win of 2008.

Murray broke serve in the fourth and sixth games as he raced through the opening set.

And Golubev, ranked 150th, was broken three more times in the second set as Murray sealed victory in 58 minutes.

Murray arrived in Russia having sealed back-to-back Masters Series titles in Cincinnati and, last week, Madrid, after reaching the US Open final in between.

Sunday's final was the 12th consecutive win for the world number four, who has also won titles in Doha, Marseille and Cincinnati.

"I'm happy to win and to defend my title here," said Murray. "Andrey performed very well this week and, I believe, has a good chance to become a top-ranked professional."

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 semis.