Jerzy Janowicz continued to be a thorn in the side of higher ranked opponents as he reached the Paris Masters final with a 6-4, 7-5 win over local favorite Gilles Simon on Saturday.
Polish qualifier Janowicz, who beat US Open champion Andy Murray in the third round, used his big serve and his magic touch to see off Simon and set up a meeting with Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer.
Ferrer, who is looking to clinch his maiden Masters title, dismissed France’s Michael Llodra 7-5, 6-3 in the other semi-final after saving 10 break points in the opening set.
Wildcard Llodra, who had won his 43 service games in the tournament heading into Saturday’s clash, took a medical timeout to have his back massaged while trailing 3-0 in the second set.
Ferrer wrapped it up with a cross-court forehand winner after one hour 50 minutes.
Earlier, world No. 69 Janowicz claimed his fifth top-20 scalp in Bercy.
The achievement has yet to sink in.
“For me I cannot believe this actually. How is this possible?” Janowicz told a news conference. “I came here just to play qualifications and suddenly after a few days I’m in the final. I don’t know how I did this but tomorrow the final is waiting for me. Wow.”
Janowicz, who did not face a single break point, broke the 20th ranked Simon in the fifth game with a booming service-return winner and comfortably held serve to claim the opening set with a forehand winner.
The Pole, who missed only three first serves in the first set, was less dominant in the second set.
Simon, however, fell 0-40 down in the 11th game and Janowicz sealed the decisive break with a drop shot winner.
He ended the contest with yet another drop shot winner on his second match point and immediately started sobbing as he collapsed to his knees before hitting the court with his hand in apparent disbelief.
“I still need some time to relax a little bit, to think about this match, to accept this situation,” he said.
“Right now I’m in the final. After this match point, I just fell down and I was crying almost like a baby. Big baby,” added Janowicz, who stands at 2.03m.
Janowicz could not go to this year’s Australian Open because he did not have enough money. In January, he could well be seeded for the season’s opening Grand Slam since he is projected to break into the ATP’s top 30 when the new rankings are released today.
Janowicz can now expect to attract some sponsors, especially since TV crews have been besieging his house in Poland.
“The street next to my house actually is completely blocked. There is like about nine or 10 cars, TVs, and it’s completely blocked. There is no way to get to my house right now,” Janowicz said. “So I think after this final I have a chance to find some really good sponsors and I will not have to worry about the money.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but