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| October 29, 2001 | Monday | Shaba'an 11, 1422 |
Sluggish Safin triumphs
ST PETERSBURG, Oct 28: Defending champion Marat Safin overcame a slow start to end unseeded Rainer Schuettler’s fine run at the St Petersburg Open with a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory in the final on Sunday.
Safin broke the German in the opening game but Schuettler dominated the rest of the first set, finishing it off in 34 minutes with an easy forehand down the line.
The third-seeded Russian reversed the tables in the second set to level the match at one-all.
It was the first time in the tournament that Schuettler, who beat top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round and giant-killer Max Mirnyi in the quarter-finals, had dropped a set.
Safin scored a decisive break in the third game of the final set for a two-one lead as the German mis-hit an easy forehand.
The Russian clinched the match on his first opportunity, breaking Schuettler in the ninth game after the German hit a backhand into the net.
BASLE, (Switzerland): Tim Henman swept past home favourite Roger Federer 6-3 6-4 6-2 to win the Swiss indoor tournament for the second time on Sunday, boosting his hopes of a place in the season-ending Masters Cup.
The victory sealed a near perfect week for the second-seeded Briton, who did not drop a set on the way to his second title of the season and eighth of his career.
Having lost a four-set match to Henman in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, Federer, who lives near Basle, had hoped home court advantage would give him the edge this time.
The British world number 11 also went into the match with a 100 percent 3-0 record against the fourth seeded Swiss, and quickly stamped his authority on the contest by registering an early break in each of the three sets.
With Henman’s serve and volley attacking game working to perfection, Federer, lacking the spark of earlier rounds, gained just three break points on his opponent in the entire match and could not capitalise on any of them, losing the final for the second straight year.
LUXEMBOURG: Belgian teenager and top seed Kim Clijsters crushed Lisa Raymond of the United States 6-2 6-2 to win the Luxembourg Open for the second time on Sunday.
Clijsters, the runner-up in this year’s French Open, won the tournament two years ago to take her first WTA title and tasted success again as she pinned doubles specialist Raymond to the baseline with a barrage of long, powerful shots.—Reuters
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