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CINCINNATI, Aug 18: American Andy Roddick secured back-to-back Masters Series titles with a thrilling 4-6 7-6 7-6 victory over friend and compatriot Mardy Fish in the $2.45 million Cincinnati final on Sunday.
Seventh seed Roddick, the most prolific player of the north American hardcourt season, saved two match points before prevailing in the deciding set tiebreak 7-4.
Roddick’s fifth title of the year followed his win at the Montreal Masters Series last week, and takes him to number one in the ATP Champions Race.
Fish, 21, was seeking the first title of his career but, despite matching Roddick stride-for-stride in an absorbing encounter, he failed to convert his two break and match points at 5-4 in the third set.
Roddick went on to claim his 20th victory in 21 matches since losing in the semi-finals of Wimbledon in July.
It was also the first time since Patrick Rafter in 1998 that anyone had scooped back-to-back Masters Series victories at Montreal and Cincinnati.
That year, the Australian went on to win the U.S. Open, and 20-year-old Roddick will be hoping to repeat that feat when the year’s final grand slam begins on August 25.
It looked as though a combination of fatigue and the awkward task of trying to beat his friend and former high school colleague might bring Roddick down on Sunday.
His timing awry, he surrendered a break of serve in the fifth game of the first set, allowing Fish — who started with the confidence of a player enjoying the best week of his career — to establish the advantage.
But slowly Roddick chipped away at Fish’s comfort zone.
Two break points for Roddick went begging at 4-3 in the second set but he regrouped to take the tiebreak 7-3 after Fish betrayed the first sign of nerves with a wild forehand.
One moment in the tiebreak — when the pair exchanged a ‘high-five’ after Fish lost a stunning point — also relieved the tension and brought the crowd to its feet.
The ebb and flow of the contest then saw Fish back in control with two match points at 5-4 in the decider but, under immense pressure, Roddick escaped with a service winner and an ace.
The drama demanded another tiebreak as a finale but it again proved unlucky for Fish.
A breathtaking crosscourt pass gave Roddick a mini-break at 3-2 and he never looked back.
TORONTO: World number three Justine Henin-Hardenne romped to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over unseeded Russian teenager Lina Krasnoroutskaya in the final of the $1.3 million Canadian Open on Sunday.
It was the Belgian’s sixth title of the year, putting her level with compatriot and world number one Kim Clijsters.
Clijsters was beaten by Krasnoroutskaya on Thursday when the tournament was delayed by the largest blackout to hit the northeastern United States and Canada.
The Belgians are friendly rivals, with Henin-Hardenne hot in pursuit of Clijsters’s number-one ranking.
She broke serve in the opening game to set the tone, then held hers to go up 2-0.
The 19-year-old Russian came to life in the third game, fighting back from triple break point to win.
But second seed Henin-Hardenne was relentless, breaking serve in the fifth and seventh games to take the set in 25 minutes.
With Krasnoroutskaya misfiring repeatedly, The Belgian broke in the second game of the second set.
Game three, however, went to deuce six times with the Russian almost breaking back and finishing on Henin-Hardenne’s ninth ace of the afternoon.
Krasnoroutskaya, in her first WTA final, said that she did not match up to Henin-Hardenne.
Henin-Hardenne now heads for the U.S. Open, where she is among the favourites. Her previous wins this year were at the Dubai Open, Family Circle Cup, German Open, French Open — her first grand slam — and Acura Classic.
Crowd favourite Martina Navratilova and Svetlena Kuznetsova defeated Maria Vento-Kabchi and Angelique Widjaja 3-6, 6-1 6-1 in the doubles final.
It was Navratilova’s seventh Canadian title, three of them in singles.—Reuters
