Coria Saves Match Points, Faces Nadal in ATP Beijing FinalPosted on September 18, 2005  Rafael Nadal will attempt to tie Roger Federer's 10 titles on the year when he faces Guillermo Coria Sunday in the final at the ATP stop in Beijing.Nadal increased his career head-to-head record with Juan Carlos Ferrero to 4-0 Saturday, defeating the former No. 1-ranked Spaniard 6-4, 6-4 in their first match on hardcourts to gain the final. "Nadal runs so much and I have to be so aggressive to win points," Ferrero said. "I think I missed a lot of balls where I tried to finish the point in the middle of the court. I had a lot of chances to finish points and I missed them and gave him a lot of free points. It was a close match but I think I missed too much." Coria, playing sluggishly after two matches on Friday to make up for rain delays, saved three match points in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Thomas Johansson. "I had three match points on my own serve and couldn't convert one of them," said an incredulous Johansson after the match. "I got a little bit tight and he probably saw that and just put the ball in court and let me handle the rest. To come back after that is a tough thing to do. I didn't serve well at the important points. If I'd served well on the match points I'd be sitting here as a winner." The Argentine nicknamed "El Mago" miraculously seemed to get more spry as the match proceeded. "It was very hot and I was really struggling at the start with my reaction time," Coria said. "But luckily I was able to turn it around and by the end I was at full speed." Nadal leads the head-to-head with Coria 2-1, all on clay. "It will be a difficult match," Nadal said. "Whatever happens it's been a good tournament and I will leave this tournament feeling good. It should be a nice final against Coria, the third of the year, and hopefully it will be like the first two finals." The all-unseeded doubles final will be Gimelstob/Healey vs. Russians Tursunov/Youzhny. |
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