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Sania falls after tie-break heartbreak

James Blake and Marat Safin to lock horns in the semifinals of Thailand Open

TOUGH BATTLE: Marat Safin had to sweat it out against Mischa Zverev to book a semifinal spot at the Thailand Open . — PHOTO: AP

SEOUL: A day after she sent Martina Hingis crashing out of the Korea Open, Sania Mirza was eliminated on Friday by Virginia Ruano Pascual.

There was little to choose between the two quarterfinalists, who battled it out for two hours and 54 minutes on a warm afternoon at Seoul Olympic Park. But the Spaniard finally prevailed 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(3).

"Losing in a tie-break is always tough. There wasn't much more I could do. It was a great match and you learn a lot from matches like this," Sania said.

The first set marked the standard for the rest of the match. Sania showed flashes of the brilliance that undid Hingis the previous day, as well as a number of unforced errors. Accurate groundstrokes from the powerful Spanish player kept the pair neck and neck.

Sania received treatment for muscle cramp after the fourth and sixth games of the second set but still managed to step up a gear. Despite letting her opponent off the hook on two occasions, she eventually took the set 6-4.

Controversial end

With both players tiring, neither could seize the initiative in the final set and it was little surprise when it went to a tie-break.

Sania had already survived two match points but lost the tie-break 7-3 amid a number of controversial over-rulings by the umpire.

"I met Virginia in the locker room and she said that she had never seen three over-rules in a tie-break before. It does spoil the game but sometimes it goes for you and sometimes against," Sania revealed.

On Saturday, Ruano Pascual faces Ai Sugiyama in the semifinals.

Earlier in the day, fifth seed Vera Zvonareva was defeated by Eleni Daniilidou in straight sets. The Greek next plays Marion Bartoli.

James Blake stepped up his fight for a place in November's season-ending Masters Cup with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win over Jarkko Nieminen to reach the semifinals of the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Friday. In the semifinal, he will meet Marat Safin, who overcame Mischa Zverev 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5.

The results:

At Bangkok (ATP Thailand Open): Quarterfinals: James Blake bt Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 2-6, 7-5; Marat Safin bt Mischa Zverev 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5. Second round: Ivan Ljubicic bt Benjamin Becker 7-6(6), 7-5; Paradorn Srichaphan bt Mikhail Ledovskikh 6-4, 5-7, 6-2; James Blake bt Benjamin Balleret 6-3, 6-2; Mischa Zverev bt Rainer Schuettler 7-6(7), 7-5; Marat Safin bt Julien Benneteau 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-2.

At Palermo (Internazionali di Sicilia): Second round: Fernando Verdasco bt Jan Hajek 6-2, 6-2; Ramon Ramirez Hidalgo bt Gianluca Naso 6-2, 6-2; Gilles Simon bt Mariano Zabaleta 7-5, 6-3; Nicolas Lapentti bt Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4); Martin Vassallo Arguello bt Oscar Hernandez 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Nicolas Almagro bt Frantisek Cermak 6-1, 6-2; Albert Montanes bt Potito Starace 6-2, 6-2; Filippo Volandri bt Sergio Roitman 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4.

At Seoul (WTA Hansol Korea Open): Quarterfinals: Eleni Daniilidou bt Vera Zvonareva 7-6(4), 6-4; Virginia Ruano Pascual bt Sania Mirza 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(3); Marion Bartoli bt Akiko Morigami 6-3, 1-6, 6-2; Ai Sugiyama bt Paola Suárez 6-2, 6-3.

At Luxembourg (WTA Fortis Championships): Second round: Nathalie Dechy bt Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-3; Francesca Schiavone bt Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-1; Alona Bondarenko bt Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Agnieszka Radwanska bt Venus Williams 6-3, 6-0.

At Guangzhou (WTA International Open): Quarterfinal: Tzipora Obziler bt Li Na 6-3, 6-2. — Agencies

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