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Stepanek rallies to down Fish

Bopanna and Nieminen lose in the final

— Photo: AP

‘THE WORM’: Radek Stepanek got yet another chance to show off his dance moves after winning the SAP Open.

SAN JOSE: Radek Stepanek, the fourth seed, won his second ATP title this year, rallying to beat the fifth-seeded American Mardy Fish 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the SAP Open tennis here on Sunday.

A day after coming back from a set down to beat 2008 champion Andy Roddick in the semifinals, Stepanek was forced to do the same against Fish while becoming the first Czech player to win the San Jose event since Ivan Lendl in 1983.

Stepanek got some help from his 27-year-old opponent, though. Fish lost 10 straight points during one stretch in the third set, nine through unforced errors.

“I came here with a lot of confidence and it just paid off,” said Stepanek, who also won in Brisbane in January. “It’s definitely, so far, my best (start). This year I teed off rightaway in Brisbane and now this is my second title, which is great for me.”

Stepanek broke Fish’s serve twice in the final set, delivering the game winner on an overhead forehand that wrong-footed Fish.

That was in contrast to earlier in the match when Fish controlled the momentum with his powerful serve and kept Stepanek glued to the baseline.

Fish, who went into the final with a tournament-leading 67 aces, had 16 more against Stepanek.

The turning point of the match came in the second set when Stepanek held serve to go up 5-4 and broke Fish to level the match. Stepanek broke Fish’s serve in the ensuing game to square the match 1-1 and went on to dominate the final set, winning the final four games.

During the victory celebration, Stepanek donned a San Jose Sharks jersey and paraded around the court. He dropped to the ground briefly for a mini-version of the worm dance he has become known for, then jumped to his feet and held his arms in the air as the crowd applauded.

Memorable double

Stepanek made it a grand double when he teamed up with Germany’s Tommy Haas to beat India’s Rohan Bopanna and Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles final.

Haas and Stepanek converted the four break points that came their way and never dropped their serve to run away with the winners trophy in just 50 minutes.

The results:

At San Jose (ATP SAP Open): Finals: Singles: Radek Stepanek bt Mardy Fish 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; Doubles: Radek Stepanek & Tommy Haas bt Rohan Bopanna & Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-3.

At Memphis (ATP RMK Championships and WTA Cellular South Cup): Women: Melanie Oudin bt Jill Craybas 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; Marina Erakovic bt Julie Ditty 7-6(4), 6-0; Kristina Barrois bt Jarmila Groth 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3).

At Dubai (Dubai Open): Women: First round: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova bt Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-4; Vera Dushevina bt Yan Zi 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; Zheng Jie bt Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 6-1; Alisa Kleybanova bt Anna Lapushchenkova 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Julia Schruff bt Petra Kvitova 6-3, 2-6, 6-4; Sybille Bammer bt Mariya Koryttseva 6-1, 6-4; Tsvetana Pironkova bt Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-2, 6-3; Sara Errani bt Chan Yung-Jan 6-4, 6-4; Kaia Kanepi bt Tamira Paszek 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Urszula Radwanska bt Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-3; Marion Bartoli bt Ai Sugiyama 6-0, 4-6, 7-6(6); Dominika Cibulkova bt Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-2; Ayumi Morita bt Anna Chakvetadze 7-5, 6-2; Monica Niculescu bt Peng Shuai 3-6, 7-5, 6-2; Daniela Hantuchova bt Stefanie Voegele 7-5, 6-2; Virginie Razzano bt Kateryna Bondarenko 7-5, 6-2; Alona Bondarenko bt Olga Govortsova 6-4, 6-3; Francesca Schiavone bt Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 6-1; Samantha Stosur bt Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4, 6-3. — Agencies

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