Murray Mania as Teen Faces Federer; Roche to Coach Mirza Too?

Posted on October 2, 2005

Murray Sets Up Shocking Federer Clash at ATP Bangkok

Before this week, Brit-Scot rookie Andy Murray had never reached an ATP quarterfinal, and now Sunday finds himself in his first tournament final against world No. 1 Roger Federer at the ATP stop in Bangkok.

Murray came from a set down Saturday to defeat No. 7 seed Paradorn Srichaphan 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-2, banishing questions of his fitness.

"I always knew that I was in good shape," said Murray who won his second consecutive three-setter. "I think Paradorn did quite a lot of running in the second and third sets. It was good for me to see that he was getting tired. It showed I was making him do more running today."

Murray will now have to raise his rookie game even further in the final against world No. 1 Roger Federer, who dispatched of No. 6 seed Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-4.

"Today was my best match so far," Federer said. "It went like I expected really. You know what you're going to get with his game -- baseliner, tough lefty. I tried to shorten the points early on and mix it up with drop shots. I tried to take some chances and not give him the rhythm, and it worked really well."

On the line for Federer is a current 23-win streak in tournament finals, a 30-match win streak (second to Thomas Muster's 35 in 1995) overall, a fifth consecutive title, a seventh successful title defense from last year, and an 11th title on the year, eclipsing Rafael Nadal's 10.

The doubles final will be (1) Hanley/Paes (d. Bhupathi/Gimelstob in the semis) against Israelis (2) Erlich/Ram (d. (3) Aspelin/Perry).

"Federer is the best player in the world by quite a long way," Murray said of his first meeting with the Swiss. "I don't know what to say. He could be one of the greatest players ever, so to play against him in my first ATP final is a dream come true. Hopefully I can go out and give a good account of myself. If I start well I should do okay, but the first couple of games I might be a little bit nervous."

Italian Volandri Wins 2 to Reach ATP Palermo Final

Italy's own Filippo Volandri won two matches in the rain-delayed schedule Saturday at the ATP claycourt stop in Palermo, defeating No. 2 seed Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-2 then unseeded Tomas Behrend 6-4, 6-2 to reach the championship match.

The No. 6-seeded Italian will face unseeded Russian Igor Andreev, who stopped an all-Italian final when he eased by Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-4.

It will be the first meeting between Volandri and Andreev.

Exhausted Puerta Routed at ATP Vietnam Open

Two 7-6-in-the-third wins proved too much for top seed Mariano Puerta Saturday going into the semifinals at the ATP stop in Ho Chi Minh, with the Argentine routed 6-1, 6-0 by Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman.

"I feel really tired and I have pain in all my body," Puerta said. "Jonas played a perfect match. He served good, moved good...to me it was a perfect match."

In the final the unseeded Swede will face No. 3 seed Radek Stepanek, who upset No. 2 Thomas Johansson 7-5, 6-4.

"I'm satisfied with my form this week, but I'm not happy yet. I'll try for that tomorrow," Stepanek said. "I had couple of weeks off and I'm hungry to play and hungry to win."

Stepanek is 0-2 in career finals.

The doubles final will be Burgsmuller/Kohlschreiber vs. Fisher/Lindstedt.

Bjorkman has not dropped a set in two career meetings with Stepanek, both on hardcourts.

Clijsters Seeks 4th Straight Title in Luxembourg Final

Top seed Kim Clijsters put herself in position for a fourth consecutive title Saturday, brutalizing No. 4 seed Nathalie Dechy 6-1, 6-1.

In the championship Clijsters will square off against unseeded German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who upset No. 7 seed Dinara Safina 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Clijsters baked a bagel against Groenefeld in their only previous meeting earlier this year at Stanford. The 20-year-old German is looking for her first career title.

Chinese Yan Into Final at WTA Guangzhou

China's Zi Yan kept the home crowd happy Saturday at the WTA stop in Guangzhou, defeating 16-year-old Belarussian Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 to gain her career-first WTA singles final.

In the final Yan will face No. 6-seeded Spaniard Nuria Llagostera Vives, who stopped an all-Chinese final by defeating No. 5 seed Jie Zheng 7-5, 6-4.

Vives, who has never faced Yan, won her first WTA title earlier this year at Rabat.

Jankovic, Vaidisova in WTA Seoul Final

Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic will face No. 2 seed Nicole Vaidisova in the final of the WTA stop in Seoul.

Jankovic turned back No. 3 seed Tatiana Golovin in three sets 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, while the 16-year-old
Vaidisova had an easier time against unseeded Colombian Catalina Castano 7-5, 6-4.

Vaidisova won her lone meeting with Jankovic earlier this year at Miami, with both players jousting for their first title of the year.

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