BEIJING, 19 September 2004 — Determined Marat Safin mowed down Finn Jarkko Niemimen 6-2, 6-4 yesterday to set up an all-Russian title showdown at the inaugural edition of the $500,000 China Open.
The former world No. 1 has not tasted trophy success since November 2002 when he won the Paris Masters at Bercy, the last of his 11 career titles. With last year’s campaign a wipeout due to six months of wrist injury absence, the 24-year-old stormed back to prominence as he played and lost the final at the Australian Open to on-fire Roger Federer. But the Russian has stalled since and is keen to prove himself when he faces compatriot and Davis Cup teammate Mikhail Youzhny at the tennis venue for the 2008 Olympics. The 22-year-old Youzhny advanced by knocking off his third seed of the week in the form of No. 6 Paradorn Srichaphan 6-4, 6-4.
The more experienced Safin owns a 1-0 record against Youzhny, beating him in straight sets in Melbourne two years ago. Despite the unusual sight of a small group of noisy Russians waving flags and chanting for their hero amid a sea of Chinese fans, Safin could only smile for a moment at the thought of his compatriots’ enthusiasm. The Russians were answered by a smaller number of Niemimen-fan Finns to the amusement of the Chinese majority in the stadium. Nieminen has now lost his last four matches against Safin but leaves with some confidence as a return from three months away with a wrist injury continues to gain traction.
Unseeded Youzhny shot down the hopes of an Asian appearance in the title match with his upset of Thai hero Paradorn. Youzheny’s crisp attacking game caught Paradorn on a bad day, with the Thai failing to overcome 22 unforced errors in his 81-minute defeat.
Spadea, Ancic Reach Semifinals at Delray Beach
In Delray Beach, Florida, top seed Vince Spadea and No. 3 Mario Ancic, the only seeds left in the draw at the $380,000 ATP hardcourt Tennis Tournament, advanced to the semifinals on Friday. The two remained on course for a showdown in the final, Spadea advancing with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory over US qualifier Hugo Armando. Croatia’s Ancic led the way into the final four with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Denmark’s Kenneth Carlsen. Ancic next meets Ricardo Mello of Brazil, who rallied to defeat Jerome Golmard of France, 6-7 (2 7), 6-3, 6-3. Spadea will face his third straight fellow American rival in Jeff Salzenstein, who defeated big-serving Briton Greg Rusedski 6-4, 7-6 (9 7).
Kuznetsova Beats Petrova Again to Reach Bali Final
In Bali, US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova battled back to beat Nadia Petrova 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 yesterday and reach the final of the Wismilak International, where she will play unseeded German Marlene Weingartner.
Kuznetsova recovered from dropping the opening set to dominate her fourth seeded compatriot, while Weingartner also rallied to overcome Italy’s Maria Elena Camerin 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 and reach her first career final.
In the first set of her semifinal, Russian Kuznetsova struggled to find her rhythm and allowed Petrova to build a 4-1 lead. After holding two break points in the first game, dropping her serve to fall behind 3-1 and failing to convert a break point in the next game, Kuznetsova finally broke back on her eighth break point and held to level at 5-5.
Petrova continued to pressure with some solid serving and consistent groundstrokes and although Kuznetsova held off two set points at 6-5, Petrova swept through the tiebreak 7-1.
That seemed to energize the lethargic Kuznetsova, who sharpened her game and allowed Petrova just four points as she built a 5-0 lead in the second set. The final set continued in the same vein, with Kuznetsova sweeping to a 4-0 lead and finding the range on her serve with 10 aces.
In the second semifinal, the Weingartner struggled with her serve from the start and hit seven double-faults. After conceding the first set, the 24-year-old began to strike her forehand more effectively, winning her a break for 1-0 and again for 5-2.
