Agassi, Coria, Moya, Venus, Clijsters Battle for Titles Sunday
Posted on July 31, 2005
Agassi Into Final at ATP Los AngelesAndre Agassi reached his first final of the year Saturday, defeating Juan Ignacio Chela 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the final at the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles.
"He was pulling triggers, and I could feel if I didn't step up my game he was going to control what was going on out there," Agassi said. "It was a high quality first set. I snuck a break out of nowhere. I knew I had to lift my game, and I did as the match continued."
In the final Agassi will face unseeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who shocked No. 2 seed Dominik Hrbaty 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1.
Muller and Agassi have only faced each other once, with Muller surprising Agassi last year in the semifinals at Washington.
Coria, Moya in Blockbuster ATP Umag Final
No. 2 seed Guillermo Coria resorted to his scrappy best in coming back from a set down to defeat Italian No. 8 seed Filippo Volandri 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the final at the ATP claycourt stop in Kitzbuhel.
"I am finding my game and today it was another difficult first set," Coria said. "Volandri played very well and there was nothing I could do. Then I had luck in the 3-2 and managed to win the set. Probably he got a bit tired from yesterday."
Coria is 0-2 this year in finals after finishing runner-up at Masters Series events at Monte Carlo and Rome.
In the final the Argentine will take on former No. 1 Carlos Moya, with the No. 6 seed rolling past No. 5 Jiri Novak 6-4, 6-4.
"I am feeling good with my shoulder and this is the most important thing," Moya said. "I have no pain and I know that if I stay healthy, the results will come."
The four-time Umag champion Moya trails Coria 2-4 in their career meetings.
"Moya is playing at his best and it will be very difficult to beat him," Coria said. "But I am really hungry to win a tournament this year. I know he has been invincible in finals here in Umag but I hope I can be the first one to break this record of his."
The doubles final will be Czechs (1) Novak/Pala vs Mertinak/Skoch.
Gaudio in 3rd Final in 3 Weeks at ATP Kitzbuhel
Former French Open winner Gaston Gaudio reached his third consecutive final in three weeks on Sunday at the ATP claycourt stop in Kitzbuhel, reaching the championship match Saturday with a 6-1, 6-1 dismatling of unseeded Mariano Zabaleta.
"I came here to see if I could win some points and now I'm in the final," Gaudio said. "Tomorrow's another match and I'll try do as well as possible."
Standing in the Argentine's way in the final will be unseeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who upset No. 7 seed and last year's Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
"This is my third year here," Verdasco said. "In the first year I lost 7-6, 7-6 to Juan Carlos Ferrero but I realized that I can play very good here. Last year I made the semifinals. For me this is one of the most special tournaments of the year."
The only time Gaudio and Verdasco have faced each other was in last year's Kitzbuehel semifinal, with Gaudio winning in straight sets.
The doubles final will be the unseeded Rochus brothers, Christophe and Olivier in their first final together, against the winner of Arnold/Puerta and Friedl/Pavel.
Venus, Clijsters in WTA Stanford Final
Venus Williams (d. (3) Schnyder from a set down) and Kim Clijsters (d. Groenefeld, bagel in the second), advanced to the final Saturday at the WTA stop in Stanford.
"I didn't feel I was really on my game," Venus said. "My feet were slow and she played really well. You have to have that little extra step and I didn't feel like I had that today. I had to fight myself to get it out of me."
Under the ESPN cameras, Venus milked the exhaustion card for all it was worth.
"I just tried to stay positive and not float away mentally," Williams said. "I'm at the end of the line, I've arrived in the finals. It's good for me. Got to see what's left tomorrow. And even if there's nothing left like today, I'll still find something. I just wanted to win."
Venus leads the career head-to-head with the Belgian 6-2, including the last three meetings.
"Everything has to be right tomorrow," Clijsters said of facing Venus. "I have to serve well, I have to hit the corners. If you don't do that, that's what she does...From the moment I get a shorter ball and have a chance, I have to play aggressive and mix it up."
Top-seeded Smashnova Advances to WTA Budapest Final
Top seed Anna Smashnova is positioned to win her second title in her last two tournaments, on Saturday advancing to the final at the WTA stop in Budapest with a 6-2, 6-0 stomping of No. 4-seeded Croat Jelena Jankovic.
Two weeks ago Smashnova swept to the claycourt title at the WTA stop in Modena.
In the final Smashnova will square off against unseeded Catalina Castano of Colombian who came from a set down to outlast Spain's Laura Pous Tio 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-0.
Smashnova won their only previous meeting earlier this year in Istanbul.
The doubles final will be No. 1 seeds Emilie Loit and Katarina Srebotnik against Spanish No. 4 seeds Lourdes Dominguez Lino and Marta Marrero.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
The Bryan brothers on their quest to get the ATP to not change the scoring of doubles, speaking to the Orange County (Calif.) Register: "We're trying to reach as many people as possible because the more people and more voices we have on our side can only help," Bob Bryan said. "They are changing the tradition of tennis," Bob said. "Juniors, college players and women will be playing six games, and we will be playing five...It makes doubles like an exhibition or Team Tennis. I think the fans will take doubles less serious." Mike added: "But so far, we haven't had much impact. The rule changes are not going to make singles players want to play more doubles. We've talked to a lot of singles players, and they say they aren't going to play more doubles. Andy Roddick told us he doesn't like the changes."