Tipsarevic 'finally' wins Chennai title

Updated January 07, 2013 08:10:23

Serbian world number nine Janko Tipsarevic overcame early jitters to stave off Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut's challenge and win the Chennai Open.

The second-seeded Tipsarevic lost the first set but found his rhythm back to beat the unseeded Bautista-Agut 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in a first-time meeting.

The 28-year-old Tipsarevic, who went down to Milos Raonic in last year's marathon final in Chennai, won his fourth career ATP World Tour title in timely fashion with the Australian Open just over a week away.

"I think there's just one word to say and it's 'finally'," he said after winning his first title in Chennai in his sixth attempt.

"Last year, some of you may know, I could smell it, it was just there."

Bautista-Agut, who defeated top seed Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals, looked set for his first title at one stage but Tipsarevic fought back brilliantly to wrest control, exactly like he did against Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia in the semi-final.

Reuters

Tags: tennis, sport, india

First posted January 07, 2013 08:10:23

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Federer makes short work of Tipsarevic

Updated November 07, 2012 10:15:18

Roger Federer started his bid for a seventh ATP Tour Finals title in record-breaking fashion as the Swiss great crushed Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-1 at London's O2 Arena.

Federer's victory took him to 40 match wins in his 11 appearances at the prestigious season-ending event, breaking the previous record of 39 held by Ivan Lendl.

The 31-year-old already has a record six titles in the event after winning the tournament for the last two years and he looks in the mood to complete a hat-trick on the evidence of this emphatic Group B victory over the Serbian eighth seed in just one hour and eight minutes.

"I'm very happy I played so well because Janko's a great player," Federer said.

"I've had a great year but I hope it's not over yet.

"It's my third trip to London this year. The other two were pretty good and I hope something similar is going to happen this week."

Tipsarevic had been suffering from a virus for several days leading up to the tournament and was forced to withdraw from his Paris Masters quarter-final last week due to exhaustion.

It was hardly ideal circumstances to face a fired-up Federer and the Swiss showed no mercy, breaking in the second game and racing into a 3-0 lead.

Federer had won all five of his previous meetings with Tipsarevic and, with the Serb having no impact on his opponent's serve, the first set was over in 30 minutes.

Tipsarevic staved off two break points in the third game of the second set, but Federer kept dictating play from the baseline and he finally induced a miscued forehand from the Serb to break for a 2-1 lead.

Scenting blood, Federer delivered the killer blow with a blazing forehand for another break that ended any hopes of a Tipsarevic revival.

"I was striking the ball well today," Federer said.

"I hope it's a sign for more to come. I'm happy the first one went so well and it takes the pressure off looking ahead in the next couple of matches."

Meanwhile, Spain's David Ferrer extending his winning run to 11 matches with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Juan Martin del Potro.

"I am very happy. It was a top match," Ferrer said.

"It was very difficult to play against Juan Martin, but I hope the people enjoyed our tennis.

"I don't know the secret of my good form. It has been the best season of my career. Maybe it's because I didn't have a big injury."

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, england, united-kingdom

First posted November 07, 2012 07:23:06

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Del Potro crushes Tipsarevic to stay in semis race

Updated November 09, 2012 09:01:23

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro crushed Serbian eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic 6-0, 6-4 on Friday morning (AEDT) to keep alive his hopes of securing a place in the semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals.

After both players lost their opening Group B matches, this clash in London had become a must-win encounter and it was former US Open champion del Potro who seized his chance to avoid an early exit with a brutal display of power hitting.

Del Potro, seeded sixth, has lost just twice indoors in 2012 and he blew Tipsarevic off the court in just one hour and 16 minutes.

The Argentine still needs a win against Roger Federer in his final group match on Saturday to reach the last four and even that may not be enough depending on the result of David Ferrer's meeting with Tipsarevic.

At least del Potro still has a chance, unlike Tipsarevic who is destined to crash out after losing both his matches without even winning a set.

"I'm so glad to be part of this amazing tournament. I'm trying to play my best tennis," Del Potro said.

"It's not easy to win a set 6-0. Janko was fighting. He's a very good player.

"I have a high step up against Federer on Saturday but I will try to beat him.

"I have worked a lot every day to be here after my injury problems. I'm back in the top 10 and I really want to enjoy this week."

Only Federer, Novak Djokovic and Ferrer have amassed more than del Potro's career-high total of 65 match wins this year and, with recent titles in Basle and Vienna on his CV, he is clearly determined to finish the year on a high.

Del Potro, who was Tour Finals runner-up in 2009, had won all three of his previous encounters with Tipsarevic and the result was never in doubt after he made the perfect start with a break in the opening game.

The Argentine saved a break point on his own serve before seizing control of the set with a second break, secured with a forehand bludgeoned with ferocious power.

Leading 3-0, del Potro refused to take his foot off the gas and he broke again in the fifth game before closing out the set.

Tipsarevic had been struggling with a virus before the start of the tournament and he looked short of energy and inspiration here.

He finally stopped the rot by holding serve at the start of the second set, but del Potro was striking the ball too well to be denied for long and he landed the decisive break in the fifth game.

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, england

First posted November 09, 2012 08:36:57

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Tipsarevic clips brave Duckworth's wings

Updated January 19, 2012 16:16:52

Australia's James Duckworth bravely succumbed to world number nine Janko Tipsarevic in a gruelling four-setter in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

Tipsarevic won the match 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to progress to the third round where he will meet either Richard Gasquet of France, or Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev.

But it was the 19-year-old from Sydney who wowed Margeret Court Arena as he took the ninth-seeded Serb all the way, mixing powerful forehands with deft drop shots throughout.

A big upset was on the cards when Duckworth raced away to claim the first set 6-3 as Tipsarevic looked unable to cope with the young upstart's booming groundstrokes.

But the more experienced player picked himself up to assert some dominance and win the second set 6-2.

Duckworth then showed tremendous grit to break Tipsarevic and recover from 5-3 down to level the match at 5-5, before taking the set to a tie-break, only for Tipsarevic to show his experience and edge it 7-5.

Tipsarevic then broke early in the fourth set, capping off a rally with a retreating forehand down the line to take a 4-2 lead with the shot of the match.

After looking nervy in the third set, Tipsarevic used that moment of skill as a confidence booster see out the final set 6-4.

Tags: sport, australian-open, tennis, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted January 19, 2012 16:10:08

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