Federer advanced to the Rogers Cup final Saturday with 6-1,
3-6, 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic, while Murray beat top-ranked Rafael Nadal
6-3, 6-4 in the first semifinal.
Murray and Federer have met 11 times, with Murray winning
six times. Federer won their last meeting in the Australian Open and has beaten
Murray three times in tournament finals.
“Once I make it to the finals I know where my game’s at,”
said Federer, who stated his intent to regain the No. 1 ranking this season and
raised his standing one spot to No. 2 with the win over Djokovic (now No. 3).
“I win more
finals than I lose. Rarely do I go to a finals and play a shocker. But it’s not
the same playing a guy ranked 40 in the world and a guy No. 4. (Murray) who
comes off a win beating Rafa. We all know how hard it is to beat Rafa and me,
but it’s been done in the past and that’s why I have to be careful tomorrow.”
Federer improved to 10-5 all-time against Djokovic, who won
the Rogers Cup title in his debut appearance in 2007.
Federer broke serve in the first set to go up 2-0, looking
dominant with sharp cross-court forehands. He aced a fourth straight point to
hold serve and take a 3-0 lead, putting Djokovic on his heels. The Serb pulled
one back in the next game but couldn’t fend off Federer’s pressure, committing
multiple unforced errors to lose the first set decisively.
“I wasn’t serving well when I needed to, and I made a lot of
unforced errors on my backhand side,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic’s emotions got the best of him just before dropping
the 11th game of the final set, smashing his racket with verve before his elimination
was sealed in the next game.
“It’s a little bit frustrating that I haven’t used the
opportunity I had in the end,” said Djokovic. “But, you know, he was
realistically a better player today.”
Murray needed 1 hour, 44 minutes to complete the victory
over Nadal on a muggy afternoon at the Rexall Center.
Murray used his strong baseline game to knock off the top
seed. He put pressure on Nadal throughout the match and kept the unforced
errors to a minimum.
Using powerful topspin shots from the back of the court,
Murray moved Nadal from corner to corner. His slice and cut shots also were effective,
preventing the speedy Spaniard from getting into a rhythm.
Sharapova, Clijsters in Cincinnati final
Meantime, Maria Sharapova will meet Kim Clijsters in the
final of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday after the pair came through contrasting
semifinal ties.
Belgian Clijsters advanced after her Serbian opponent Ana
Ivanovic retired with ankle ligament injury early in the first set, while Sharapova
had to battle through three tough sets to beat fellow Russian Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 and reach her second final in successive
tournaments.
In a fascinating encounter, the three-time Grand Slam winner
Sharapova never truly dominated her determined 19-year-old opponent until she
broke in the third set to take a 4-2 lead.
Sharapova was beaten in the Stanford final by Victoria
Azarenka earlier this month sand said she was now fired up to get a victory
ahead of the US Open later this month.
“I certainly want to give it all I have, all the energy and
power and everything,” she said.
The pair have not met since Clijsters returned last year
following a two-year break from the sport.
“I’m excited, it’s been a while since we played and we have been
through different things in our lives,” Sharapova said, referring to her
lengthy absence with a shoulder injury.
While Clijsters, now a full year into her comeback, will be
a tough opponent for Sharapova, the Belgian reached the final with little effort
after a tearful Ivanovic was forced to quit.
Ivanovic had made a fairly routine return with the score 2-1
to Clijsters in the first set but then pulled up and had to receive extensive
treatment. The former world number one returned but was visibly in pain and had
to retire.
