Surprise Finalists in Rotterdam

看板ALL-RUSSIANS作者Escude (Hyper Chondriac Music)時間22年前 (2003/02/23 04:55)推噓3(3推 0噓 0→)

留言3則, 1人參與討論串1/1

http://www.atptennis.com/en/newsandscores/news/news/rotterdam6.asp Belarus' No. 1 player Max Mirnyi advanced to his second career ATP final by defeating his doubles partner Roger Federer 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the first of Saturday's semifinals at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. Mirnyi had yet to win back-to-back matches in 2003, but this week the Belarussian has won four consecutive matches on route to the final, defeating Croatians Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic, before knocking out former champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov and No. 2 seed Roger Federer. Nicknamed "The Beast" for his size and ability to fight, Mirnyi reached the semifinals of Tennis Masters Hamburg in 2002 with impressive wins over Sampras, Moya, Zabaleta and Boutter before losing to eventual champion Roger Federer. The Belarussian also turned in his best result at the US Open last year where he reached his first quarterfinal in 14 Grand Slams. Mirnyi defeated Federer at Flushing Meadows before losing a close four-set battle to Agassi. In today's match, Mirnyi gunned down 13 aces and saved 5 breakpoints from 7 to seal the victory over Federer. The confident Swiss player was competing in his second semifinal in Rotterdam in three years and was riding on a 10 match winning streak having claimed the Open 13 title in Marseille last week. Federer now holds a 15-4 win/loss record on the 2003 season. Since losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open, this is only Federer's second defeat. And in the second singles match of the day, Holland's Raemon Sluiter, born and raised in Rotterdam, gave a sensational performance and moved into his second career ATP final - the second time his has done it on home soil. He defeated sixth seeded Sebastien Grosjean in straight sets. Grosjean had defeated Sluiter at this event last year. Sluiter's last ATP final came in 2000, when he reached the final on clay in Amsterdam. WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID Roger Federer: "I didn't feel so good out there today. I felt I was under pressure out there. We both know each other's game really well, so when we have to play an important point, we normally know where each of us are going to serve. It is stuff like that which you tend to know if you play doubles together." "I definitely didn't get the same rhythm. If the balls are in play, I am meant to win the rallies, but the points were very short and I had a problem winning from the baseline." "I am happy for him to be in the final. Obviously it is disappointing for me, but he played solidly and didn't miss. He deserves to win." About reaching the doubles final: "For me it is special to be in the final for the third time in a row. I don't play doubles often, but when I do, I tend to win a lot." Max Mirnyi: "This is my second career singles final, but it is also the second final where I am also in the doubles final. Things didn't go well when I played the singles final in (Tennis Masters) Stuttgart, so I am hoping to change things tomorrow." "I was always sniffing the break on Roger's (Federer) serve." "I have been playing here pretty consistently this week. I believe the way I played in the quarterfinals and semifinals, I have the game to win the tournament. I want to win my first title in Rotterdam." "If I play Sluiter in the final tomorrow, it will be very special for the matter that neither of us have won a title before. Whoever wins, will be winning their first title. Playing Sluiter will be good for Rotterdam city and good for me, because I like playing in Davis Cup conditions." "I am sure that my success here will bring a lot of interest to tennis in Belarus. I hope all the results from Belarussian tennis players will encourage other owners of sport clubs to build more tennis courts and make tennis more popular in Belarus." Sebastien Grosjean:"I was a little tired from yesterday's match against Nicolas (Escude). On this surface, it is so fast, you have to be quick and I wasn't today. Physically, I just wasn't there. Raemon (Sluiter) was serving well. I couldn't serve well today because my legs were so tired. You must serve well to win on this surface." "I wasn't in good shape today, but I played him last year here as well and it was a close match. I beat him 7-6, 7-6. If you aren't playing at 100 percent, it's very tough even if it's against someone lower ranked than you." Final Preview Unseeded Max Mirnyi and wild card entrant Raemon Sluiter will meet in tomorrow's final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. Neither has won an ATP title in their career and both will be looking to become the fifth player this season to win their first ATP singles championship. Other players who have done it this year are Nikolay Davydenko (Adelaide), Hyung-Taik Lee (Sydney), Martin Verkerk (Milan) and David Sanchez (Vina del Mar). It wasn't until Barcelona last year that the fifth player won his first ATP title. The last time these two met was on grass last year at Queen's Club with Sluiter winning in sstraight sets. The first set tiebreak went to 11-9 and expect more tiebreaks tomorrow with the hard serving Minryi facing the solid backcourt game of Sluiter. -- Too old to feel an earthquake Or too cool to even care -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw) ◆ From: 218.187.32.89 ※ 編輯: Escude 來自: 218.187.32.89 (02/23 04:55)