Chela Completes Estoril Double

看板Latin_AM作者 (伊格拿西奧)時間21年前 (2004/04/20 17:07), 編輯推噓0(000)
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18 Apr, 2004 Chela Completes Estoril Double Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela captured his first ATP title in nearly two years after defeating Russia's Marat Safin in the final of the Estoril Open. Chela, the No. 5 seed whose two previous titles came on clay in Mexico City in 2000 and Amersfoort in 2002, claimed the third championship of his career with a 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-3 victory over the No. 8 seed in 2 hours, 24 minutes. "I won singles and doubles, so it's like a dream," said Chela. "It was a really tough match. I was a little bit nervous at the end and I'm really happy that I have beaten Marat. He's one of the best players in the world, so it's very important for me." The win marked Chela's first career win against Safin, having lost all three of their previous meetings. With the win, Chela receives 35 INDESIT ATP 2004 Race points. The victory completed a great tournament for Chela, who won the doubles title with countryman Gaston Gaudio on Saturday. He became the first player to win singles and doubles at the same tournament on the ATP circuit this year, and the second player to achieve the feat in Estoril, joining Emilio Sanchez (1990). Chela also became the second Argentine winner at the Estadio Nacional in the last three years, after David Nalbandian captured the title in 2002. Safin, who was attempting to become the second consecutive Russian to claim the title following Nikolay Davydenko's win last year, was appearing in the 20th final of his career and his second of the season having lost to Roger Federer at the Australian Open. Safin now has an 11-9 record in finals on the ATP circuit. He was looking to capture his first title since winning the ATP Masters Series event in Paris in 2002. On what was a windy day in Estoril, Chela won the first three games of the final and was seemingly cruising through the opening set before Safin hit back to level matters at 3-3. In the 11th game, Safin broke Chela's serve for the second time to serve for the set, but Chela broke back immediately to force a tie-break. However, the Argentine could do nothing to stop Safin, who took the opening set in 37 minutes after winning the tie-break 7-2 when Chela served the fourth of his seven double faults to lose his first set of the tournament. Control In the second set, Chela broke Safin's serve in the fifth game of the second set as the Russian made a number of unforced errors. Safin's frustration was clearly evident as he smashed his racquet and received a second warning, resulting in a point penalty at the start of the next game. Chela then began to take control of the match, breaking Safin to love to take the second set and opened up a 3-0 lead in the decider. Although Safin got back on terms at 2-3, it was only a temporary reprieve as Chela regained the initiative and served for the championship at 5-3. Although Safin saved three match points, Chela sealed his victory when the Russian's backhand sailed long. "There were very though conditions because of the wind," said Chela. "It looked like Marat had more trouble with that, especially in the second set, and then I took my chances. I kept my plan for the match, hitting his forehand. I knew it would be a long match so I never lost my nerve." A disappointed Safin said: "I had my chances in the second set but I just couldn't take them. Then he got stronger and more solid. Maybe I was looking for the fast way to win. Maybe I went for too much and I put too much pressure on myself to win the second set. That's when I started to make mistakes and got more and more frustrated." But the Russian was optimistic about the upcoming clay court season. "I have to be positive," he added. "These kind of losses, they can upset you. But I have to look at it in a positive way. I went for two and a half weeks without playing, and then I've beat Robredo in a really tough match. So I'm playing well and I think at a good level of tennis, so I'm looking forward and I'm satisfied with the way I'm playing. I have to take it step by step." -- (伊格拿西奧) -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 61.230.96.180
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