Wawrinka, Berdych to meet for

Rotterdam title
AFP | Feb 15, 2015, 11.47 AM IST

ROTTERDAM (Netherlands): Stan

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

of
7-

The Swiss fourth seed fired 10 aces

his own while holding second seeded
Raonic to 13 in a semifinal win lasting
98 minutes. Wawrinka now stands 4-0
over the Canadian.

of

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.com

Nishikori survives to reach Memphis

final
AFP | 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
quarterfinalist at this
next faces secondKevin Anderson,
American Donald

Open runner-up and a

year's Australian Open,
seeded South African
who outlasted
Young 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Nishikori will be
career title. Four of
when he repeated
won the Barcelona Open, Malaysian Open and Japan Open.

seeking an eighth
those came last year,
in Memphis and also

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
56 minutes. Berdych now meets the winner of
between Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka and
Milos Raonic.
The Czech, now coached by Andy Murray castDani Vallverdu, said that he and his
Venezuelan coach have been concentrating on
strategy. "We are focusing a lot more on game
than I have done in other years," said Berdych,
has never defended an ATP title.

Sunday's final, lasted just

the other semi-final
Canadian second seed

off

plans
who

"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 squad
AFP | 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

Andy Murray says
need for Novak
to explain himself after
controversial Australian
final.
Djokovic struggled through
an eighth Grand Slam
title eight days ago looking beaten physically
but pulling through for a
set victory at the expense of a
furious Murray, who came close to
accusing him of theatrics on court.

Open finalist
there is no
Djokovic
their
Open

to

four-

"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