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Federer reaches first final of year at Estoril Open

Swiss Roger Federer reaches to a ball returned by German Denis Gremelmayer on the half-final of the Estoril Open at Jamor Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday. PHOTO: AFP

Roger Federer reached his first final of the year on Saturday, rallying to beat Denis Gremelmayr of Germany 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 at the Estoril Open.

The top-ranked Swiss star will play on a Sunday for the first time in five tournaments. Federer hasn’t had to play five tournaments to get a shot at his first trophy of the season since 2000.

Federer’s previous best result in 2008 had been a semifinal loss to eventual champion Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January.

“I definitely feel more comfortable. The moving, the sliding, just the way I see the game today is much better than Tuesday,” Federer said. “It gives me one extra shot of winning the tournament. It’s my first final of the year, so I’m actually very happy.”

Gremelmayr broke Federer in the first game, and another break in the seventh put him on course for the first set. But Federer recovered to break the 104th-ranked German four times in the match.

Federer will play 2003 champion Nikolay Davydenko, who beat Florent Serra of France 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal match.

“It’s going to be a very tough match, but I’m pleased to be back in the final and hopefully I can win it,” said Federer, who is 11-0 against the fourth-ranked Russian.

Gremelmayr had Federer on his toes after an opening break by mixing in power shots from the baseline and precision drops at the net on the back of a 180km per hour serve.

Federer, who is working with coach Jose Higueras for the first time at Estoril, continued to come to the net despite some early mixed results that weren’t helped by the unsettling wind.

“I struggled early on to keep the ball in play. I didn’t serve very well and he definitely surprised me how he was able to pull off so many winners off the backhand side,” Federer said. “I had to battle hard, so I am very happy with my performance in the very end.”

Gremelmayr broke for the second time when Federer sent a forehand into the net, and he was on his way to taking the first set in a half an hour.

Federer, who had 14 errors in the first set, looked like the underdog and the stands reacted with cries of encouragement.

He improved in the second set and was 3-0 up behind an array of winning shots — a drop in the first game, an ace to hold the second and he then served out to love for the third.

Both players held to 5-3 before Gremelmayr broke due to three unforced errors by Federer. But Federer held for 6-5 and then raced out to a triple-break chance in the 12th, which he converted at the net to set up the deciding set.

“The wind was really swirling around and I just got broke, so I didn’t feel very good. But thank God I hung in there and broke back and was able to win the set,” Federer said. “It was a crucial moment of the match.”

Federer stayed on the baseline to start the set but broke the German in the second game with a smash at the net. Federer lobbed Gremelmayr in the fourth game for another break and soon led 4-0.

The German held on his next chance, but Federer’s serve —which brought 10 aces — was too strong and he forced Gremelmayr to hit a return into the net to clinch the match.

Davydenko and Serra exchanged early breaks before the Russian took control.

Davydenko, who hit 10 winners in the opening set, eased away from the 101st-ranked Serra after a break in the seventh. The Frenchman committed 16 unforced errors in the first set.

Davydenko broke Serra twice more to cruise to his second straight final after winning at Miami. He is also coming off a victorious Davis Cup weekend for Russia.

On the women’s side, Maria Kirilenko of Russia rallied to beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 Saturday and reach the final.



US CLAY COURT

AFP, HOUSTON, TEXAS

Top-seeded American James Blake booked his berth in the final of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship Saturday with a straight-sets victory over eighth-seeded Oscar Hernandez.

Blake, 28, defeated the Spaniard 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) to give himself a chance to add a first career clay court title to the 10 singles titles he has claimed on other surfaces.

“The way I’m playing I feel pretty good and I haven’t dropped a set yet,” Blake said. “I have adjusted to clay very well and I feel good. I just want to continue to play my game.”

Although he has never won a title on clay, Blake clearly had the edge in experience on Saturday, and the same will be true in the final.

Blake will take on seventh-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers-Pujol, who had never before reached an ATP semi-final.

Granollers-Pujol made his first appearance in the final four a successful one with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over American Wayne Odesnik.

“I served really good after I was down 5-3 in the second set,” said Granollers-Pujol, who saved four of six break points he faced in the match.



FAMILY CIRCLE CUP

AFP, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Former world No. 1 Serena Williams moved a step closer to a third straight WTA Tour title on Saturday with a semi-final victory at the Family Circle Cup.

Williams, the fifth seed, defeated unseeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-3 to reach the title match at the US$1.3 million claycourt tournament.

Currently ranked ninth in the world, Williams has won 14 consecutive matches, including back-to-back titles in Bangalore and Miami.

Her ranking is expected to rise to sixth if she can claim her 31st career championship Sunday.

“I’m just trying to take it one tournament at a time right now,” Williams said when asked about cracking the top five again.

“Staying healthy and playing well is my focus. I’m not thinking about rankings, I’m thinking about titles,” she said.
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