Andy Murray is into the semi-finals of the Madrid Open after battling past long-time rival Tomas Berdych on Friday. The British No 1 is the reigning champion of the Spanish event and has moved one step closer to retaining his title after a 6-3 6-2 win in the quarter-finals.The encounter on Madrids clay courts lacked the spikiness of previous meetings between the players, but the Brit would have appreciated a calmer days work. Tomas Berdych has a good record against Andy Murray Murray broke at the third time of asking in the second set before easing into a 4-2 lead, grinding Berdychs challenge to a halt.Murray secured back-to-back breaks with a sensational backhand drop shot that sent Berdych scurrying unsuccessfully across the red clay, before serving out the win. Andy Murray told Sky Sports Mark Petchey how changes to his second serve helped him on the way to a straight-sets win over Tomas Berdych in Madrid The result extends Murrays head-to-head record against Berdych to 8-6, emphasising the difficulties that the Czech player has given him throughout their careers.Berdych had won their previous meeting in Madrid three years ago but rarely looked capable of repeating that trick.Watch the Madrid Open semi-finals on Saturday from 11am, live on Sky Sports 3 HD. Also See: ATP schedule Tennis on Sky Latest scores Get a NOW TV pass Video Vans Shoes Wholesale Uk . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Cheap Vans Shoes Wholesale .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. http://www.wholesalevansuk.com/ . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Vans Shoes Clearance Sale Uk .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Wholesale Vans Shoes For Sale . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- For the University of Miami, probation is ending.Very little else will change.Miamis three-year NCAA probation largely stemming from the actions of rogue and now-former booster Nevin Shapiro gets completed on Friday. It satisfies one of the most damning sanctions the Hurricanes were issued, though some aftereffects -- scholarship reductions in football and mens basketball, most notably -- will remain felt for a few more months.Nothing really changes when probation ends, because weve already changed our approach, Miami athletic director Blake James said. Were not going to not be vigilant now. Were going to continue doing all we can to educate our students, our coaches, our fans on the importance of knowing and following NCAA rules to the intent of the law.A fairly standard end-of-probation series of events await Miami, which has had to file reports annually during the probation period to show how the school has continued taking corrective actions. Miamis final step was the sending of a letter from university president Julio Frenk affirming that all terms of the probation were met -- and once that is reviewed, if no issues remain, the NCAA replies with official word that probation is in fact over.What Miami does next is largely of its own accord. The Hurricanes self-imposed a number of additional stipulations to go along with the NCAA sanctions , including banning athletes from accepting invitations from boosters for occasional home-cooked meals -- something thats typically permissible.Another policy that James will revisit is the decision that has kept former football players from watching games from the Miami sideline.The date of when the probation ends, we have given no thought to, said Miami mens basketball coach Jim Larranaga, who has 10 scholarship players this year -- while most Diviision I clubs will have 13.ddddddddddddBeing on probation and being investigated since the day I arrived, thats more than five years that weve dealt with it. It has had a major impact. But now that its over with, I can see the difference in our recruiting.The Shapiro saga is one of the messiest chapters in Miamis history. The investigation took more than 30 months, going back to when Shapiro -- who is scheduled to remain in federal prison until 2027 for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme -- first contacted the NCAA to essentially boast about his involvement with coaches and athletes at Miami and try to take down people he said betrayed him when he got in legal trouble.In reality, no one really knows when the sordid affair really started. Perhaps it was 2002, when he started interacting with Hurricane athletes, or 2009 when the school self-reported an internal probe over his actions to the NCAA, or 2011 when he took his story public. Miami elected to sit out two bowl games and an Atlantic Coast Conference football championship game while the NCAA probe crawled along.And the end of probation wont even end all the sanctions related to this tale.Shapiros attorney is scheduled to start a 91-day suspension from The Florida Bar later this year for cooperating with NCAA investigators, a partnership that also violated NCAA rules regarding subpoena usage in such probes and forced the governing body for college sports to remove some of its findings from the final list of allegations against Miami.The Hurricanes learned plenty of lessons from this mess, James said.The good news is Ive never gone through this before, James said. The better news is I never plan on going through this again. ' ' '