Wawrinka, Berdych to meet for Rotterdam title

AFP|Feb 15, 2015, 11.47 AM IST

ROTTERDAM (Netherlands): Stan Wawrinka nullified the serving attack of second seed Milos Raonic 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (9-7) on Saturday to set up a final with Tomas Berdych at the ATP Rotterdam World Tennis event.

The Swiss fourth seed fired 10 aces of his own while holding second seeded Raonic to 13 in a semifinal win lasting 98 minutes. Wawrinka now stands 4-0 over the Canadian.

Holder Berdych followed his game plan to the letter and reached his second consecutive final in Rotterdam with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Gilles Simon. The rout lasted just 56 minutes.Wawrinka will be playing for his second title of the season after winning Chennai and then reaching the Australian Open semi-finals.

"I'm really happy to be in final, it's amazing for me," said Wawrinka, who last played here a decade ago. "This is a great result."Milos is always so tough indoors, with his huge serve. it is always tough to break him.

Berdych stayed in total control against semi-final opponent Simon as he swept to his ninth straight Rotterdam victory, losing only one point on first serve."It's good not to find anything wrong with your game," said a satisfied Berdych. "It was a really good match, solid from the beginning.

"And it all started with the right game plan. I felt very good on court, it was all positive for me. I was able to add something to my game."I want to keep doing that for one more match here," said Berdych, who ended with 14 winners and breaks on four of five chances.

Berdych, who trailed Simon 3-6 coming into the match, said: "I did many things differently today compared to our last matches, this result is clear proof.

"I'm happy with how I handled it, with just the right amount of patience and choosing the right shots in the right moment.

"I created the moments for myself and got the situation to my liking." Berdych won the opening set in 32 minutes with two breaks of Simony's serve and then picked up the pace as he hurtled to victory, advancing to the final on the first of three match points.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.comNishikori survives to reach Memphis finalAFP|Feb 15, 2015, 12.00 PM IST

MEMPHIS: Japan's Kei Nishikori kept his bid for a third straight ATP Memphis Open title on course with a gritty, three-set semifinal victory over Sam Querrey on Saturday.

The top-seeded Nishikori withstood 27 aces from America's Querrey, toiling for two hours and 41 minutes to claim a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5) victory.

Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up and a quarterfinalist at this year's Australian Open, next faces second-seeded South African Kevin Anderson, who outlasted American Donald Young 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Nishikori will be seeking an eighth career title. Four of those came last year, when he repeated in Memphis and also won the Barcelona Open, Malaysian Open and Japan Open.

But his week hasn't been entirely smooth, as he has had to rally from a set down in all three of his matches.He had two match points on Querrey's serve at 5-6 in the third set, but Querrey won four points in a row to force the tiebreaker, then took a 4-2 lead in the decider.

Nishikori won five of the next six points, however, to seal the win. "I thought a couple of times I might lose tonight," Nishikori said. "He was hitting a lot of aces and it was tough for me to hit any returns. I kept playing my game and as soon as I had a chance at his second serve, I tried to come in."

Anderson, the 28-year-old world number 15, blasted 13 aces past Young to reach the championship match.He broke Young at love in the seventh game of the final set for a 4-3 lead and held twice for the triumph, his fifth in six meetings with the 25-year-old US left-hander.

"I thought it was a really tough match," said Anderson, who saved all four break points he faced in the second and third sets."There were parts of the match where I didn't feel like I maybe played my best tennis, but I was able to hang in there.

"I've got a shot at winning the title tomorrow and that's what I came here to do," added Anderson, who has lost his past five ATP finals appearances, most recently last March at Acapulco to Grigor Dimitrov.

His only ATP titles came at the 2011 South African Open and in 2012 at Delray Beach, Florida, where he now resides.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Berdych sticks to the plan rout of Simon

AFP|Feb 14, 2015, 08.57 PM IST

ROTTERDAM: Holder Tomas Berdych followed his game plan to the letter and reached his second consecutive final at the ATP Rotterdam World Tennis event on Saturday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Gilles Simon.

The rout, which took the Czech third seed into Sunday's final, lasted just 56 minutes. Berdych now meets the winner of the other semi-final between Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka and Canadian second seed Milos Raonic.

The Czech, now coached by Andy Murray cast-off Dani Vallverdu, said that he and his Venezuelan coach have been concentrating on strategy. "We are focusing a lot more on game plans than I have done in other years," said Berdych, who has never defended an ATP title.

"We've only had a few weeks together, but we have been able to implement a lot into my game."Berdych stayed in total control as he swept to his ninth straight Rotterdam victory, losing only one point on first serve. He kept Simon on the back foot throughout the brief contest, with the eighth seed barely recognisable as the man who upset top seed Murray 24 hours earlier.

"It's good not to find anything wrong with your game," said a satisfied Berdych. "It was a really good match, solid from the beginning."And it all started with the right game plan. I felt very good on court, it was all positive for me. I was able to add something to my game."I want to keep doing that for one more match here," said Berdych, who ended with 14 winners and breaks on four of five chances.

Berdych, who trailed Simon 3-6 coming into the match, said: "I did many things differently today compared to our last matches, this result is clear proof."I'm happy with how I handled it, with just the right amount of patience and choosing the right shots in the right moment.

"I created the moments for myself and got the situation to my liking." Berdych won the opening set in 32 minutes with two breaks of Simon's serve and then picked up the pace as he hurtled to victory, advancing to the final on the first of three match points.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Federer and Wawrinka out of Swiss Davis Cup squadAFP|Feb 14, 2015, 04.18 PM IST

LAUSANNE: Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, who led Switzerland to last year's Davis Cup, have both turned their back on the squad for this year's first round tie against Belgium.

A Swiss Tennis Federation statement late on Friday confirmed the pair "have decided to not make themselves available" for the tie in Liege from March 6-8.

Federation president Rene Stammbach had hinted that the chances of seeing the pair in first round action were slim. "I'm the first to understand that priorities change in the year after a Davis Cup victory and that it isn't that easy to get back into the fray," Stammbach said.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

I've no problem with Djokovic, says Murray

AFP|Feb 10, 2015, 10.18 AM IST

ROTTERDAM (Netherlands): Australian Open finalist Andy Murray says there is no need for Novak Djokovic to explain himself after their controversial Australian Open final.

Djokovic struggled through to an eighth Grand Slam title eight days ago - looking beaten physically but pulling through for a four-set victory at the expense of a furious Murray, who came close to accusing him of theatrics on court.

"Everything has been made out to be much bigger than what is was," said the number four Scot on Monday at the Rotterdam World Tennis.

"That happens all the time these days."In reality, you can go through periods of being very tired, then get better. You can get a second wind."As the finishing line gets closer, you can feel better. If Novak feels he has something to explain, I'd be pleased to speak with him, But I don't feel he really needs to explain anything.".

"I'm excited to be back. I feel good. It's important for me to come to play here. it a great tournament, a good indoor court."Wawrinka said that after arriving on Sunday afternoon, he has already had two training sessions at the Ahoy Stadium.

He said mixing and matching his calendar serves a good purpose. "It's good to change a bit, to see some new tournaments. Even if I played here before, it was so long ago. It's also good to stay mentally fresh."

"He will be pumped for the first match - he'll be ready and dangerous. "Everything this week depends on how I'm gonna start. If I play my best tennis I can do some good results. It's indoors, so you have to be ready for the first match, I'm feeling great so we will see."

Spain's seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut beat teenaged German Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-1. Simone Bolelli advanced past Czech Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-1.

Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com