ROME: Holder Novak Djokovic took advantage of Roger Federer’s slump after a rain break to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 yesterday to set up a Rome Masters final against world No. 1 Rafael Nadal.
Nadal, a triple champion here, powered past Chilean 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3.
Second seed Federer, yet to win a title this year, looked to be cruising when leading 6-4, 2-1 but rain then stopped play for about an hour.
The Swiss broke in the ninth game when Djokovic, whose concentration had been disturbed by a spectator whistling just as he was about to take his second serve, hit a forehand long.
Federer went on to claim the first set before breaking the 21-year-old Serb again at the start of the second.
He had chances to go 3-0 and 4-1 up either side of the rain break before wild shots helped Djokovic force a third set.
The third seed then charged back from a break down in the decider.
“I feel this is not a match I should have given away because (I was a) break up in the second, break up in the third and I usually don’t give away opportunities like this,” Federer told a news conference.
“I was playing him well, serving well when I had to and putting him under pressure. The rain delay came at a perfect moment for him but he might have come back anyway and beat me.” Gonzalez pulled off the rare feat of breaking Nadal to love to rally after losing his serve early on.
However the Spaniard produced a fierce reaction, winning the next six games on his way to victory.
Kuznetsova in final
In Stuttgart, Svetlana Kuznetsova trounced Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2 yesterday to make the final of the Porsche Grand Prix for the first time.
The fifth-seeded Kuznetsova took just 67 minutes to decide the Russian duel in her favor for the sixth time in 10 meetings with No. 2 seed Dementieva. In today’s final Kuznetsova meets either compatriot world No. 1 Dinara Safina or Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, who upset holder Jelena Jankovic in the quarters.
Kuznetsova has won both previous meetings with Pennetta but trails Safina 7-4.
Earlier, Dinara Safina has cemented her top ranking beating Agnieszka Radwanska with a 6-4, 6-2 win — her third consecutive straight-set triumph.
Defending champion Jelena Jankovic suffered a quarterfinal upset as unseeded Pennetta ignored a lack of sleep to snatch a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Garrigues triumphs
In Fez, Morocco, top-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain won her ninth career title yesterday, needing just one hour to beat sixth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-0, 6-1.
Her last two titles also came on clay at Strasbourg in 2007 and 2008, where Medina Garrigues will look for a third straight title later this month as part of her preparations for the French Open.
Medina Garrigues, who lost the final to Gisela Dulko at Fez last year, took only 24 minutes to win the first set. Makarova won just nine points in the set.
