The Hindu : Sport : Djokovic takes on Davydenko in final

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Djokovic takes on Davydenko in final

Gilles hampered by neck injury; Murray done in by exhaustion

— Photo AFP

Clawing back: Novak Djokovic had to overcome a string of errors to defeat Gilles Simon and make it to the final of the Masters Cup in Shanghai on Saturday.

SHANGHAI: Serbia’s World No. 3 Novak Djokovic came back from a set down to reach the Masters Cup final for the first time with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Frenchman Gilles Simon on Saturday.

The Australian Open champion made 21 errors in losing the opening set but took advantage of a neck injury to his opponent to grind out a win after two hours 50 minutes.

Later, Russian Nikolay Davydenko beat an exhausted Andy Murray 7-5, 6-2 in the other semifinals. Defeat ended a fairytale ride for the 23-year-old Simon, who won his ticket to the season finale when World No. 1 Rafael Nadal pulled out injured and then beat defending champion Roger Federer in a round-robin match.

Simon, who will now move up to seventh in the world, struck early, converting his third breakpoint for a 2-1 lead when Djokovic made the first of a string of errors with simple shots at the net.

The Serbian got his act together sufficiently to save four setpoints and his serve at 5-4 but the Frenchman summoned up a fifth with his first ace in the next game and Djokovic handed him a 1-0 lead with another netted volley.

After his error-strewn first set, Djokovic started to find his rhythm at the start of the second and had two breakpoints on the Frenchman’s first service game.

Simon saved them both — the second when his opponent inevitably found the net with a volley — but lost the next game to love and immediately called out the trainer for treatment on his neck.

Change of script

The Frenchman’s discomfort seemed to settle Djokovic’s nerves and he pounced to break for 3-1 and from then on it looked like there was only going to be one winner.

Simon’s game is built on hussle and, with his mobility hindered, he struggled to resist as Djokovic moved him around the court with powerful groundstrokes.

After wrapping up the second set, Djokovic, who lost all three of his matches on his Masters Cup debut last year, looked to be coasting to victory at 3-1 before sustaining his own injury to his calf muscle.

Out came the trainer and Simon sniffed a glimmer of hope, battling back into contention with a break for 5-5 when the Serbian doubled faulted.

The 21-year-old Djokovic held his nerve, however, and grabbed his place in Sunday’s final on his first matchpoint when the Frenchman found the net.

After effects

Briton Murray, who would have won $1.34 million if he had gone through the tournament undefeated, was clearly feeling the effects of Friday’s three-hour epic victory over Roger Federer — a match he did not need to win to reach the semifinals.

Davydenko, the World No. 5, took full advantage to reach his first final in four straight appearances at the season finale.

The results:

Singles: Semifinals: Novak Djokovic bt Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 7-5; Nikolay Davydenko bt Andy Murray 7-5, 6-2.

Doubles: Semifinals: Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic bt Pablo Cuevas & Luis Horna 6-1, 6-3; Bob & Mike Bryan bt Mariusz Fyrstenberg & Marcin Matkowski 6-4, 6-4. — Agencies

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