The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Federer rallies to win 40th crown

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 15, 2006

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Federer rallies to win 40th crown

Dementieva triumphs in Carson; Zheng Jie stuns Myskina

ICING ON THE CAKE: Receiving the trophy from Bjorn Borg must have made Zheng Jie's victory at the Nordic Light Open more memorable. — Photo: AP

TORONTO : Roger Federer won his second Rogers Cup in three years when he overcame a rocky start to beat Richard Gasquet 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Toronto Masters on Sunday.

The Swiss, playing his first tournament since beating Rafael Nadal to lift a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, claimed his seventh title this year and the 40th of his career.

Gasquet, one of just four players to beat Federer in the last two years, looked set to pull off an upset as he swept through the opening set.

The top-ranked player in the world, however, showed his pedigree as he hit back to take his second Toronto Masters in three years and extend his winning streak on the North American hard courts to 54 matches.

Fighting hard

"I fought hard today because I had to," Federer told reporters. "Today was very hard, I started badly and he had a big opportunity at the start of the second set but somehow I got out of it."

"I just always believe that I can turn any match around," Federer said. "That's what happened today. I know that once I turn it around, once I would take the lead then it would be very difficult for my opponent. That's what I always tell myself.

"Maybe it's an illusion sometimes, but it definitely works."

Under blazing sunshine, Federer got his 17th consecutive final off to a positive start, taking the first game to love. But the 20-year-old Gasquet, who beat Federer last year at the Monte Carlo Masters, would not be intimidated.

Storming through

He responded by storming through the next five games, committing just two unforced errors compared to a staggering 17 from the World No. 1 on the way to wrapping up the first set in 31 minutes.

Gasquet kept Federer under pressure at the start of the second set and had triple break point before Federer shifted gears to win five straight points and hold serve.

Federer then broke Gasquet at the first opportunity and served out the set to level the match.

The Swiss was in no mood for another surprise defeat by Gasquet and, with the tension mounting in the third set, Federer seized control with a break to go up 3-2.

He never loosened his grip after that, ruthlessly ending the contest by easing through the next three games.

Overcoming a challenge

Meanwhile at Carson, third-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva turned back a determined challenge from Jelena Jankovic to beat the Serbian 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the final of the JPMorgan Chase Open on Sunday.

Jankovic, ranked 29th in the world and seeded 16th, won four games in a row as she roared back from 0-5 down in the third set before World No. 6 Dementieva managed to finish it off.

The 24-year-old Russian, who upset her top-seeded superstar compatriot Maria Sharapova in the semifinals, claimed her sixth career title and second of the year. She also won the tier one Pan Pacific Championship in Tokyo in February.

In the Nordic Light Open at Stockholm, China's Zheng Jie clinched her third career title after defeating former French Open winner Anastasia Myskina in the final on Sunday.

The third-seeded Zheng won 6-4, 6-1 in a rain-delayed match, which resulted in a change of venue.

The finalists had met twice previously with the Russian prevailing on both occasions. Zheng has won singles titles at Hobart in 2005 and Estoril in 2006.

The results (finals):

At Toronto: (ATP Rogers Cup): Roger Federer bt Richard Gasquet 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

At Carson (WTA JPMorgan Chase Open): Elena Dementieva bt Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

At Stockholm (WTA Nordic Light Open): Zheng Jie bt Anastasia Myskina 6-4, 6-1.

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