Janowicz fairytale continues as he reaches Paris final

Updated November 04, 2012 11:07:04

Jerzy Janowicz's extraordinary campaign in what is his first ATP Masters event continued on Sunday morning (AEDT) as the Pole reached the final after beating Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4, 7-5 in the Paris tournament.

He will play David Ferrer in Monday's final after the in-form Spaniard saw off France's last representative Michael Llodra 7-5, 6-3.

Janowicz, 21 and more acquainted with the second tier Challenger tour, had already disposed of among others US Open champion Andy Murray and he required just over two hours to end Simon's interest.

And he joked his run here is turning him into a household name back home.

"This tournament is going to change a lot - in Poland, the street where I live is totally blocked with dozens of TV vans out there is no way to get to my house right now," laughed the 22-year-old from Lodz.

The Pole, ranked 69 in the world prior to the tournament, pounded Simon in the first set with unstoppable serves while the Frenchman, ranked 20, was unable to get his service going in the first set with just a success rate of 50 per cent first serves in.

Janowicz, who had to come through qualifying to make the draw proper, eventually ended Simon's resistance in the second set by breaking for 6-5 and safely wrapped it up in the next game on his own service.

Janowicz admitted the butterflies got to him before the match but he overcane them.

"I was a bit nervous before the match - it was my first semi-final at this level. I didn't know if I would do myself justice.

"But finally I had an incredible feeling as I did yesterday and two days ago (in beating Murray)," said the unheralded Pole.

"It's been a fantastic week - I'd never have believed it coming in. I am pretty confident by nature but I got here through the qualifications. To be in the final I can hardly believe it.

"Now I am hoping for new sponsors and no longer have money problems."

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, france

First posted November 04, 2012 11:00:40

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Murray reaches US Open final

Updated September 09, 2012 14:11:22

Olympic champion Andy Murray, trying to become the first British man to win a grand slam title since 1936, withstood blustery conditions to beat Tomas Berdych and reach the US Open final.

Third seed Murray advanced by defeating the Czech sixth seed 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) and will face either defending champion Novak Djokovic or Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer.

Murray, who owns a 6-5 career record against Ferrer but trails Djokovic 6-8 in their all-time rivalry, was left not knowing who he will face in the final after the other semi-final was suspended until Monday (AEST) with Ferrer ahead 5-2.

As a result the men's final will start at 6.00am Tuesday (AEST).

"It was brutal," Murray said, after a tornado warning had been issued earlier in the day.

"Some of the hardest conditions I have ever played in, and I come from Scotland so that's saying something."

Trying to end a British men's slam drought dating to Fred Perry's 1936 US title, the 25-year-old Scotsman battled through brutal winds to reach his fifth career grand slam final, his second in a row after falling at Wimbledon.

After collecting an Olympic crown last month, avenging his Wimbledon final loss to Roger Federer in the final, this might at last be Murray's moment.

"I hope so," Murray said.

"You can never say for sure. I know how hard these tournaments are to win.

"When the conditions are like they were today anything can happen. You have to be there from the first point to the last."

Murray and his coach, eight-time grand slam champion Ivan Lendl, are the only Open-era players to drop their first four grand slam finals, Murray losing at the 2008 US Open, 2010 and 2011 Australian Opens and last June at Wimbledon.

Despite wicked breezes, Murray connected on 74 per cent of his first serves and won 73 per cent of those points while making only 20 unforced errors to 64 for Berdych.

"The wind blew it away for me," Berdych said.

"It was really hard to play a passing shot in this kind of weather, but on the other hand, it was also tough not to make mistakes and be aggressive."

Wind gusts whipped the net and players' clothing, played havoc with many serve tosses, blew food wrappers across the court to foil several points and even sent Murray's chair and racquet bag onto the playing area late in the second set.

"You had to focus for every single point. You had to get in position for every shot. You weren't going for aces because it was hard enough to get the second serves in," said Murray.

Umpire Pascal Maria turned off the electronic system to signal let serves after wind gusts set off random beeps.

"This is not about show. This is just about somehow to try to deal with the conditions and then trying to put ball over the net," Berdych said.

"Sometimes it was impossible."

Murray, also trying to become the first man to win the Olympic and US Open titles in the same year, will overtake Spain's Rafael Nadal as world number three this week.

This is the first grand slam event since the 2004 French Open without either Nadal or Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

Nadal was absent with a knee injury while Swiss top seed Federer was ousted by Berdych in the quarter-finals.

With Scottish actor Sean Connery among those watching, Murray dominated the second set and broke Berdych at love to open the third set and again in the third and final games, then broke for a 2-0 lead in the fourth set.

Berdych, who will match his career-best ranking of sixth this week, broke back in the fifth game and they held to the tie-break, where Berdych took a 5-2 lead on a 129-mph ace but errors on the next three points pulled Murray even.

Murray, who lost four of six prior matches to Berdych, took advantage on his second match point to end it two minutes shy of four hours.

"I just tried to hang on and got through in the end," Murray said.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, united-states

First posted September 09, 2012 06:28:09

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Ferrer reaches US Open semi-final

Updated September 07, 2012 10:27:40

David Ferrer won through to the US Open semi-final beating Janko Tipsarevic in a five-set thriller to earn a match-up against either Novak Djokovic or Juan Martin Del Potro.

The Spanish fourth seed fought back from two-sets-to-one down to defeat his Serbian opponent 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

Ferrer will now watch defending champion Djokovic and 2009 winner Juan Martin Del Potro to see who he will face in the semi-final on Sunday (AEST).

The Spaniard is 5-2 all-time against Del Potro and 5-8 in his career against Djokovic.

This will be the first time since the 2004 French Open that the semi-finals at a grand slam will not feature either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, a run of 33 Slams in a row.

In a marathon battle that lasted four hours and 31 minutes, Ferrer rallied from 4-1 down in the final set to force a tie-breaker, then won five of the final six points of the match, the last when Tipsarevic netted a backhand.

"I'm really happy," Ferrer said. "It was a very emotional match. It was a really tough match. Janko, he's an amazing player and he really fought a lot. He deserved to win today too."

Ferrer improved to 17-9 in career five-set matches while Tipsarevic fell to 15-8.

"It was a lottery in the fifth set," Ferrer said. "I had a break down but I was fighting also and I won. I had to fight a lot and be focused every point."

In the fifth set, Tipsarevic broke Ferrer's first service with a backhand volley winner for a 2-0 lead on the way to a 4-1 edge.

But the Serb slipped and fell on his left side going for a Ferrer backhand in the sixth game, which Ferrer held to pull within 4-2.

Ferrer, held, broke back in the seventh game, held again to pull even at 4-4 and earned two break points in the ninth game before Tipsarevic called for a trainer, having his right upper leg taped after reaching toward his right groin during a rally.

The Serb responded with a forehand volley winner and three service winners to hold and each man held into the final tie-breaker.

"I don't want to blame the fall for why I lost the match," Tipsarevic said. "I don't think it did, even though it's really painful right now.

"He played a really good game (to break). He was able to pass me every time I came to the net."

British third seed Andy Murray and Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych meet in the other semi-final.

ABC / AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, us-open, united-states

First posted September 07, 2012 09:51:50

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Stosur reaches French Open quarters

Updated June 04, 2012 09:37:05

Australia's US Open champion Samantha Stosur has progressed to the quarter-finals of the French Open with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over American teenager Sloane Stephens in Paris.

Stosur took a little longer than anticipated to reach the final eight, with the match moved to Court One as two men's fourth-round ties ran longer than anticipated on Centre Court.

Stosur served for victory at 5-3 but produced a double-fault to give away three break points, perhaps disturbed by having to replay one point after a pigeon swooped along the top of the net during play.

Stephens, 19, broke the sixth seed, but Stosur broke straight back to love and will now play Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova, who pulled off a major upset when she knocked out world number one Victoria Azarenka.

The 15th seed won 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) against the Australian Open champion, who had been expected to coast past Cibulkova, having beaten her seven times out of eight previously.

But the little Slovakian, who reached the semi-finals in 2009, handled the cold, windy conditions on the Suzanne Lenglen court far better than the tall Belarusian.

After losing the first set, Azarenka appeared to be getting back on track as she broke to lead 2-0 in the second, but 23-year-old Cibulkova dug deep to run off four games in a row.

Azarenka levelled at 4-4, with the set then going to a tie-break which a pumped-up Cibulkova led from the start to pull off a stunning win.

"I am getting more mature and more tough mentally," said Cibulkova, explaining that she had learned from the experience of losing to Azarenka in Miami earlier this year when leading a set and 5-2.

"I managed to go through these emotions. She was 6-5 up, and I said, 'hey, come on, you have to play your game again and just make it'.

"And for the tiebreak I'm very, very proud of myself that I was still going for my shots, and I just made it because she would never give me the match.

Azarenka said: "It wasn't satisfying at all, not satisfying being out there playing like that. I do not know what to find positive in that. No excuses, just a bad performance."

Sara Errani of Italy and Angelique Kerber of Germany both reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time with straight-sets wins.

Errani, seeded 21, defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-0, 7-5, while 10th seed Kerber ousted Petra Martic of Croatia 6-3, 7-5.

The pair will meet in the last eight in a top half of the draw which had also contained Azarenka.

Errani has been the form player on clay this year, winning tournaments in Acapulco, Barcelona and Budapest.

She also reached the Australian Open quarter-finals in January on hardcourts.

The win over 2009 French Open champion Kuznetsova followed her three-sets win over 2008 winner and 13th seed Ana Ivanovic in the previous round.

ABC/AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, france

First posted June 04, 2012 06:42:05

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Gajdosova reaches Guangzhou quarters

Updated September 22, 2011 09:05:25

Defending champion Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia advanced to the quarter-finals of China's Guangzhou Open by beating Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Top-seeded Maria Kirilenko also advanced, defeating Iryna Bremond of France 6-3, 6-1.

Zheng Jie, the last Chinese player in the tournament, moved into the next round by beating Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand 6-3, 7-5, while Zhao Yijing of China lost to Tetiana Luzhanska of Ukraine 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

AAP

Tags: tennis, sport, china, australia

First posted September 22, 2011 09:05:25

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Zvonareva reaches Pan Pacific final

Updated September 30, 2011 21:31:06

Russia's Vera Zvonareva overcame a nightmare start in her Pan Pacific Open semi-final, recovering strongly to power past Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in straight sets.

Zvonareva, struggling with her serve, trailed 0-4 to her Czech opponent in the first set before battling back to win a tiebreak then romping through the second set without losing a single game to seal a 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 victory.

In the final on Saturday, Zvonareva will take on Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

The 27-year-old Zvonareva, who hit a total of seven double faults in the first set, used an array of deep returns to attack Kvitova's backhand side as she fought back.

"I don't even remember that I was 5-1 down in the first set. I wasn't really thinking about it at all. I was trying to find my rhythm and I couldn't find it in the beginning," said Zvonareva, ranked number four in the world.

"She was playing really well. But slowly I got into the match and started making the shots I usually make and was able to turn it around.

"I think I played consistent in the second set and Petra made a few mistakes. We had tough games but I was able to convert all my chances and that's why the scoreline looked like that."

The 21-year-old Kvitova, ranked sixth, squandered three set points in the first set, allowing the Russian back into the match.

After finding her rhythm, Zvonareva raced into a 4-1 lead in the tie-break, taking the set when Kvitova hit an easy forehand volley into the net.

The Russian had to fend off five break points at the beginning of the second set but she was never really in danger.

"I was the first who was hitting the ball harder and I was the first going for a winner. I don't know what happened," Kvitova said.

"I didn't play my game, I didn't play harder, and I played badly. She came back and played better than me and she was the first who was going for a winner. The first set should have been mine, for sure," she added.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, japan

First posted September 30, 2011 21:31:06

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Stosur reaches Stuttgart semis

Updated April 22, 2011 08:30:00

Samantha Stosur described her quarter-final win over second-seed Vera Zvonareva as the best of the year so far as she reached the last four at Stuttgart's WTA tournament.

The 27-year-old Australian fifth-seed battled back from losing the first set for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) victory over the Russian, who is ranked third in the world, in just over two-and-a-half hours.

Having made an early exit from January's Australian Open, Stosur is hoping to use Stuttgart to recapture the form which helped her reach the French Open final at Roland Garros last year.

"That's probably the best match I have played all year," beamed Stosur after reaching the last four of a tournament for the first time in 2011.

"It is very encouraging to beat a player as good as her in a tough, tight match."

Zvonareva repeatedly broke her racquet strings and even played parts of the match with her coach's racquet.

After the Russian had dominated the first set, the match turned in the second when the 26-year-old needed lengthy treatment for a problem with her right shoulder with the score at 2-1 to the Russian.

Stosur capitalised with a series of strong serves to take a 5-3 lead when she then broke the Russian to take the third set.

There was drama in the third with the scores locked at 5-5 as both players broke the other to set up the tie-break.

Stosur raced into a 5-0 lead before Zvonareva rallied briefly, but the Australian hung on to go into the semi-finals, where she will play Germany's Julia Goerges.

Gorerges, ranked 32nd in the world, beat the Australian's doubles partner Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-4.

"I am not surprised the Germans are doing so well here," said Stosur.

"They have good players and a lot of support here after their Fed Cup win.

"I have been playing with Sabine this week, so I know what a good player she is."

Meanwhile world number one Caroline Wozniacki avenged her shock Miami defeat to Andrea Petkovic by battling back to beat the German crowd favourite 6-4, 6-1.

Despite finding herself 4-1 down after just 21 minutes of the first set, the 20-year-old Danish top seed roared back to break Petkovic, ranked 19th in the world, three times to take the opener.

Petkovic then ran out of steam and the 23-year-old had few answers as Wozniacki blazed into a 5-0 lead in the second set.

"It was tough for me to come back in the first set," admitted Wozniacki, who has won her last seven matches after also winning the Charleston tournament.

"I am sorry I beat the home favourite, but I hope the crowd will support me now.

"I feel very good at the moment, my volleys were working really well, which they haven't always done, and I played some good shots."

Wozniacki will now play Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in Saturday's semi-final after the 22-year-old needed two hours to beat German wild-card Kristina Barrois 7-5, 6-3.

- AFP

First posted April 22, 2011 06:45:00

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