Roddick advances, Azarenka triumphs
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus claimed her second title of the season on Saturday as Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek booked a final showdown at this $1.22 million ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus claimed her second title of the season on Saturday as Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek booked a final showdown at this $1.22 million ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament.
Second-seeded Azarenka swept past top-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 6-3 to add the Memphis crown to the first career title she won in Brisbane last month.
In the men’s semi-finals, US top seed Andy Roddick rallied to beat Australian Lleyton Hewitt 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a showdown of former world number ones.
Roddick, who blasted half his 16 aces in the second set and six more in the third, advanced to Sunday’s final for a $300,000 top prize against Czech fifth seed Radek Stepanek, who eliminated Israeli qualifier Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-1. Sixth-ranked Roddick, the 2002 Memphis winner, is 4-1 against Stepanek and improved to 4-6 against Hewitt with his third consecutive victory in the rivalry.
Tsonga floors Llodra
MARSEILLE: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed his second ATP title of the year when he won the Marseille Open with a 7-5, 7-6 defeat of fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra in Sunday's final. Fourth-seeded Tsonga, who won the South African Open two weeks ago, kept his cool under Llodra's pressure at the net to seal victory in one hour 43 minutes.
Tsonga, who now has four ATP titles under his belt, broke decisively in the 11th game to snatch the opening set. The second set went with serve and world number 12 Tsonga took the resulting tiebreak 7-3, ending the match with his 11th ace on his first match-point.
Nalbandian stunned
Buenos Aires: Top seed and defending champion David Nalbandian suffered a shock 2-6 7-5 7-6 loss to fellow Argentine Juan Monaco in the Buenos Aires Open semifinals on Saturday.