MADRID, 25 October 2004 — Russian Marat Safin produced another outstanding performance to beat Argentina’s David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 and win the Madrid Masters yesterday.
Safin, playing with the same crushing authority that had seen off Andre Agassi in the semifinals, emerged from a run of three broken service games with a 3-1 lead on his way to taking the first set in just 29 minutes.
Nalbandian made two tired mistakes to hand Safin the second set in game 10 and the Russian cruised through the third to complete victory in one hour 52 minutes.
Victory was enough to take Safin into sixth place in the Champions Race, ahead of Tim Henman, and closer to a spot in next month’s season-ending Masters Cup in Houston.
Molik Stuns Sharapova to Take Zurich Title
In Zurich, Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova saw her hopes of a third consecutive WTA title dashed on Sunday in a surprise 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 defeat by unseeded Australian Alicia Molik in the final of the Zurich Challenge.
The Russian world No. 7 looked in total control in the first set, out-powering and out-running her opponent with a barrage of powerful groundstrokes.
But after taking the first set 6-4, the 17-year-old Siberian seemed to lose her way in the second set, hitting a string of unforced errors to bring Molik back into contention.
The 23-year-old Australian took full advantage — breaking Sharapova’s service twice to level the match.
After calling for treatment on her right shoulder, Sharapova was much improved in a tight third set. But Molik, once touted as one of the game’s most promising teenagers, maintained her momentum — grabbing a decisive break late on before serving out for an impressive victory.
