BASEL, Switzerland, 1 November 2004 — Czech Republic’s Jiri Novak dealt Argentina’s David Nalbandian a Masters Cup setback yesterday when he clinched the Basel title here with a marathon 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win in the final of the one million euro tournament.
Nalbandian, the world No. 4, is one of the players in the shake-up for the season-ending Masters Cup in Houston and a victory here would have given him a massive boost to his hopes.
But Novak, the world No. 20, proved the stronger of the two in their first career meeting winning in 3hr 02min to capture his third title in Switzerland having won on clay in Gstaad in 2001 and 2003. It was also his seventh career title and his second of 2004 having defeated Lleyton Hewitt three weeks ago in Tokyo.
Johansson Upsets Agassi to Win Stockholm Open
Sweden’s Thomas Johansson overcame the odds to beat top seed Andre Agassi 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 in a thriller to take his first title since the 2002 Australian Open. It was the Swede’s first victory over the Las Vegan after losing all six of their previous meetings.
“There’s probably not a better occasion to beat him than in a final,” said the Swede, who missed all of last season because of injury.
After losing the first set, the 29-year-old broke Agassi twice in the next for a 4-0 lead. Agassi grabbed a break back before Johansson served out to take the match into a final set.
By now the Swede was on a roll and he broke the Las Vegan’s opening service game. He went on to hold serve until 4-3, when a couple of close calls helped Agassi break back to 4-4.
Agassi had another close call in his favor in the next game but nothing seemed to demoralize Johansson and the two players held serve until the tiebreak.
A wide forehand by Agassi gave Johansson a break for 3-1 in the tiebreak and he followed up with a superb forehand return to take a 4-1 lead. Agassi broke back to 4-3 but then hit a backhand too long giving Johansson a 5-3 lead before another good return by the Swede made it 6-3.
Youzhny Trounces Beck to Win in St. Petersburg
In St. Petersburg, Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny trounced Slovakia’s Karol Beck 6-2, 6-2 in the St. Petersburg Open final yesterday to claim his first title of the year.
Fourth-seeded Youzhny, Russia’s 2002 Davis Cup hero, delighted a large crowd at the 11,000-seat St Petersburg Sports Palace as he dominated the unseeded Slovak right from the start.
The Russian was far more consistent from the baseline and with his serves, breaking Beck twice in each set to seize control of the match. He wrapped up the contest in 62 minutes with an emphatic ace for his second ATP title.
“A final is never easy,” said the 22-year-old Muscovite, who handed Russia their first Davis Cup title when he became the first player in history to overhaul a two-set deficit in the fifth and deciding rubber to beat France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Mauresmo Thrashes Bovina to Win Linz Title
In Vienna, France’s Amelie Mauresmo thrashed Elena Bovina 6-2, 6-0 to win her fourth title of the year at the $585,000 Linz Open yesterday. The top-seeded Mauresmo overpowered Bovina from the very first point to add to her 2004 titles at the German Open, Rome and Montreal in some style.
Bovina, seeded ninth at the Austrian event, had edged a desperately tight semifinal against compatriot Nadia Petrova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 on Saturday and looked to have nothing left for the final. Mauresmo recently reached the top of the world rankings for the first time before being leapfrogged by Lindsay Davenport.
In-Form Molik Gets the Best SEAT in the House
In Luxembourg, Australia’s Alicia Molik, the second seed, stormed to her second title in a week yesterday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Russian Dinara Safina at the 225,000-dollar (175,000 euro) WTA tournament here and picked up the added bonus of a SEAT car from the organizers. The 23-year-old from Melbourne, who clinched the Zurich title last weekend with a victory over Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, secured her third title of the year and fourth of her career against 18-year-old Safina, the sister of Russian men’s star Marat Safin.
