The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Federer to fight it out with Djokovic

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Federer to fight it out with Djokovic

BASEL: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, on Saturday, set up a re-run of the 2009 Swiss Indoors final won by the Serb which ended three consecutive years of trophy domination from the Basel hometown hero.

Top-seeded Federer again showed the ruthless form which has carried him to overwhelming victories all week at the hall where he began his career as a ball boy, thumping long-time rival Andy Roddick in a 6-2, 6-4 semifinal thrashing.

Djokovic engineered a second straight escape against compatriot Viktor Troicki with the second seed managing a 7-6(4), 6-4 win. “Roger and I know each other's games well,” said Djokovic. “He's been on the top level for six or seven years and is the best ever. He's at the top of his game all the time.”

Federer fired 11 aces to just four for his big-serving opponent. The Swiss was broken to start the second set but got it back for 3-all and polished off victory in 70 minutes with a crisp passing winner past the American's outstretched racquet.

World No. 3 Djokovic found himself in a struggle with his Davis Cup teammate Troicki as both men prepare for the weekend that could determine their tennis season when Serbia hosts France in the Davis Cup final in Belgrade December 3-5.

Djokovic managed to get out of trouble against the 32nd-ranked Troicki after trailing two sets to one in an U.S. Open first-round encounter two months ago. That pattern was back in evidence in Basel.

“I was lucky to get out of the first set,” said Djokovic, who will play his third final from his last four ATP tournaments following U.S. Open and Beijing.

“That helped me to regain my confidence. We had a thrilling match in New York as well. Again today, he was the better player and was close to win,” said the Serb who saved three set points in the 12th game of the opening set to turn the momentum in his favour, winning the opening in a tiebreaker.

“The key point in the match was that 6-5 game. If he had won the first set, god knows what would have happened.” Djokovic now stands 9-0 in Basel and 6-1 over his good friend.

Bopanna, Qureshi lose

At Valencia, India's Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi crashed out of Valencia Open following a straight-set defeat at the hands of Marc Lopez and David Marrero here.

The fourth seed Indo-Pak pair lost their quarterfinal 2-6, 4-6 in just 59 minutes to their Spanish unseeded rivals.

The third-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi of Belarus defeated the top-seeded Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Oliver Marach of Austria 7-6(3), 6-4 in the doubles semifinals of the 1,357,000 Euros Valencia Open in Spain on Saturday.

The effort ensured 300 ATP points for the Indo-Belarussian pair that has been at the eighth spot in the race for the World Tour Finals to be staged in London from November 21 to 28.

The results:

At Basel: (Swiss Indoors): Semifinals: Novak Djokovic bt Viktor Troicki 7-6(4), 6-4; Roger Federer bt Andy Roddick 6-2, 6-4.

Quarterfinals: Roddick bt David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-4; Djokovic bt Robin Haase 6-2, 6-3; Troicki bt Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2; Federer bt Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-2.

At Valencia: (ATP Valencia Open): Semifinals: David Ferrer bt Robin Soderling 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 ;

Quarterfinals: Gilles Simon bt Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3; Marcel Granollers bt Juan Monaco 1-6, 6-3, 6-4; Soderling bt Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2; Ferrer bt Potito Starace 7-5, 6-4.

Doubles: Semifinals: Mahesh Bhupathi & Max Mirnyi bt Lukasz Kubot & Oliver Marach 7-6(3), 6-4; Quarterfinals: Marc Lopez & David Marrero bt Rohan Bopanna & Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 6-2, 6-4; Mahesh Bhupathi & Max Mirnyi bt Frantisek Cermak & Michal Mertinak 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-6.

At Bali: (WTA tournament of champions): Semifinals: Ana Ivanovic bt Kimiko Date Krumm 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2; Alisa Kleybanova bt Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1 . — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport