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| July 20, 2003 | Sunday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1424 |
Robredo to face Coria in final
STUTTGART, July 19: Argentina’s Guillermo Coria won his 15th clay match of the last 16 in a domineering display to Saturday to rip into the final of the 765,000-euros Mercedes Cup.
Latest victim for the world number 7 was Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, who felt anything but happy after suffering a hammering which took just 59 minutes, 6-4, 6-0.
Coria, who lifted the Hamburg Masters title in early May, will aim to double up on German clay in Sunday’s best-of-five clash at the hilltop Weissenhof club.
He takes on Spain’s Tommy Robredo, who advanced when sixth seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile quit with a stomach virus, handing over a 6-2, 4-1 victory.
On offer to the tournament winner: 118,000 euros in prize money and a Mercedes cabriolet as well.
Coria, a finalist at Monte Carlo and French Open semifinalist, followed up easily on his 6-0, 6-0 quarterfinal blow-out 24 hours earlier against Russian defending champion Mikhail Youzhny.
The 21-year-old coached by Alberto Mancini, who lost the 1991 final here to Michael Stich, has not dropped a set all week and has given up just six games in his last three matches.
Coria will try to improve on an impeccable 2003 clay record which stands 27 wins and five defeats.
Against Robredo, Gonzlaez, 14th in the world, came onto court feeling poorly and never hit his stride. After 41 minutes of ineffectual play, he tossed down the balls and walked to the net prior to starting serve in the sixth game of the second set.
He said later that he had been battling a stomach virus since Sunday when his luck finally ran out on a hot, sunny day against the 20th-ranked Spaniard.
Robredo swept up the first set in 20 minute and remained in easy control during the second when the Chilean chucked it in.
AMSTERDAM: Sixth seed and home favourite Raemon Sluiter overcame Spain’s Albert Montanes 7-6 1-6 6-3 on Saturday to set up a final with Nicolas Massu.
Massu, seeded seventh, booked his place in Sunday’s title match after injury forced Peru’s Luis Horna to retire midway through the second set.
Dutchman Sluiter battled to win the first set 7-4 in the tiebreak but was completely overwhelmed by Montanes in the second.
Montanes, ranked 107 in the world, put in a flawless display to run away with the set much to the despair of the partisan crowd.
Sluiter refused to cave in and sealed the match 6-3 in the third to reach his second final in the Dutch capital.
“I lost my way with my serve and got into trouble in the second as he was playing very well,” said Sluiter, who was also a losing finalist in Rotterdam in February.
“The third set was a new start and I was on top of things straight away. I think it’s fantastic to be in the final again, it was totally unexpected. Playing best of five (in the final) will be a very tough job.” Chile’s Massu was leading Horna 6-3 4-0 when the Peruvian retired with a leg injury.
The seventh seed was always in control against his training and former doubles partner, who struggled through the second set before limping out.—Agencies
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