TOKYO, 6 February 2005 — Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova booked a final clash at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo yesterday with identical scores.
World No. 1 Davenport beat US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 7-6 while second-seed Sharapova fought off a resilient Shinobu Asagoe by the same margin before 8,633 fans at Tokyo’s Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Davenport had little trouble with Kuznetsova in the first set as the third seed scattered balls around the court, but in the second, Davenport matched the US Open champion error for error.
However, Davenport used some good serves and a double fault by her Russian opponent to leap into a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak while Kuznetsova couldn’t string enough shots together to offer a challenge. Two netted backhands saw the end of her resistance.
“She made some errors in the first set and I was able to take advantage of that,” Davenport said. “I tried to stay aggressive. This fast surface suits me better and I think that was the difference.”
In the first semifinal, Japan’s Asagoe, who beat Russia’s Elena Dementieva in the quarters, looked out of her depth as she lost all three of her service games in the opening set. Wimbledon champion Sharapova was sharp from the beginning and had little trouble breezing through the set using strong serves and crisp ground strokes.
In the second set, world No. 32 Asagoe was a different player as she rediscovered her serve and fought tirelessly to put pressure on her Russian opponent with some long rallies.
But in the tiebreak her sixth double-fault and a lucky ace by the Russian — her seventh of the match — gave Sharapova the advantage and she won through 7-3 after an Asagoe backhand sailed long.
Martinez, Groenefeld Reach Pattaya Final
Spain’s Conchita Martinez and Anna Lena Groenefeld of Germany will clash in the final of the Volvo Open after contrasting victories yesterday. Third seeded Martinez progressed when her opponent Evgenia Linetskaya of Russia, was forced to quit with heat illness as Martinez led 6-2, 4-0.
Groenefeld reached the first final of her career by coming from behind to beat Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
“I’m in the final and it’s a nice feeling,” said Martinez, who fought off two match points in the second round. “It didn’t look so good in my first and second matches, every day I’ve played a little better.”
The 32-year old will contest her first final since Charleston in April last year, and she will attempt to win her first title since claiming the German Open in Berlin in May 2000.
There were many skilful rallies, with Martinez using her backhand slice to take some of the speed from Linetskayas forehand. And by running her around, Martinez held an advantage in what was something of an endurance test in the hot conditions.
Soon after receiving a warning for time-wasting in the second game of the second set, a distressed Linetskaya called the trainer.
Two games after receiving treatment off court and after dropping her serve to go down 4-0, she gave up the battle.
Groenefeld overcame a slow start, but once she found her rhythm on both her forehand and serve she was able to overpower the increasingly erratic Ruano Pascual.
Spadea Survives Three-Set Battle to Reach Last Four
Raleigh, North Carolina, top seed Vince Spadea survived a three-set struggle with Kevin Kim to advance to the semifinals of the Millennium International Tennis Championships at Delray Beach, Florida on Friday. Spadea squandered three match points and then lost 17 consecutive points in the second and third sets before regaining his composure to secure a 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 victory over his American compatriot.
After winning the tiebreak without dropping a point, Kim raced to a 3-0 lead in the final set before Spadea held serve, broke in the fifth and ninth games and served out the match.
“It was really unfortunate for me that I didn’t capitalize on the match points,” Spadea said. “I was starting to become emotionally and physically confused. I needed a couple minutes to regroup.” Spadea led 5-2 in the first and second set but let Kim break back in each to make the match close.
A losing finalist here last year, Spadea will meet third seed Xavier Malisse on Saturday after the Belgian defeated Paraguay’s Ramon Delgado 6-2, 6-2 in their quarterfinal.
Second-seeded Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic and South African Wesley Moodie will meet in the other semifinal.
Novak defeated seventh-seeded Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark 6-3, 7-5, while Moodie advanced when Peter Wessels of the Netherlands was forced to retire with a back injury while trailing 5-0 in the first set.
