03 October 2004	Sunday	17 Shaban 1425

BANGKOK, Oct 2: World number one Roger Federer was stretched to the limit by fourth-seeded Thai Paradorn Srichaphan before edging a 7-5 2-6 6-3 victory in the Thailand Open semifinals on Saturday.

Paradorn, who broke down in tears with the disappointment of losing a quarter-final in last year's inaugural Thailand Open, battled all the way with the outcome in doubt until the final minutes.

Federer had to fight off a break point in the opening game, but then broke Paradorn to lead 2-0. However, the Thai used his greater strength and sweeping groundstrokes to counter Federer's artistry.

The Australian, Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion went on to lead 5-2 and hold two set points but Paradorn saved those with a service winner and an airborne smash, and then broke as Federer served at 5-3.

Although Srichaphan saved another set point at 5-4 and a fourth at 6-5, he finally surrendered the set by netting a forehand volley.

Paradorn showed even more conviction in the second set while Federer slipped into a period of largely unforced errors, and two breaks levelled the match at one set all.

In the final set, Paradorn saved a break point at 0-1 and then stayed on level terms until Federer led 4-3. Some heavy returns then left Paradorn trailing 0-40, but after recovering to hold game point he made three crucial errors.

On the first, he left a return that fell in, and he followed that misjudgment by netting a backhand volley after a long rally and then hitting a backhand drive wide to give Federer the crucial break for 5-3. The Swiss then served out to love to reach his 10th final of the year.

Singles (semifinals): Roger Federer bt Paradorn Srichaphan 7-5, 2-6, 6-3; Andy Roddick bt Marat Safin 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (7-2)

SHARAPOVA IN FINAL:

SEOUL: Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova eased past Luxembourg's Anne Kremer 6-0 6-2 to reach the final of the Hansol Korea Open on Saturday.

Sharapova dominated with her serve and returned Kremer's with venom in the one-sided match which lasted just 50 minutes.

Sharapova served six aces on her way to victory and broke Kremer's serve six times.

She will face Marta Domachowska in the final after the Pole defeated Abigail Spears of the United States in the other semi.

Semifinal results:

Maria Sharapova (Russia) bt Anne Kremer (Luxembourg) 6-0 6-2; Marta Domachowska (Poland) bt Abigail Spears (U.S.) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

Canas overcomes Novak

SHANGHAI: Argentine Guillermo Canas crushed a shaky Jiri Novak 6-1 6-2 in the semifinal of the Shanghai Open on Saturday.

Canas will meet Lars Burgsmuller in Sunday's final after the German overcame Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen 7-5 6-3 in the other semi.

It is the first ATP singles final that Burgsmuller, ranked 133 in the world, has reached since winning in Copenhagen in 2002.

Second seed Novak, a finalist at last year's tournament, seemed ill at ease from the start. The Czech's stream of unforced errors and service faults handed the match to an in-form Canas.

Canas, 26, powered through service games and relentlessly broke Novak's serve throughout both sets.

Sunday's final will be the swansong for the Shanghai Open which makes way for the Tennis Masters Cup from 2005-2007.

Semifinals results:

Guillermo Canas bt Jiri Novak 6-1, 6-2; Lars Burgsmuller bt Kenneth Carlsen 7-5, 6-3

BELGIAN OPEN

HASSELT (Belgium): Quarter-final results from the $170,000 Belgian Open WTA tennis tournament on Friday

Elena Bovina (Russia) bt Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 7-6 (8-6) 6-1; Kim Clijsters (Belgium) bt Magdalena Maleeva (Bulgaria) 6-3 6-4; Maria Elena Camerin (Italy) bt Virginia Ruano-Pascual (Spain) 5-7 7-5 6-4; Elena Dementieva (Russia) bt Denisa Chladkova (Czech Republic) 7-5 6-4.

SICILY ATP

PALERMO: Quarterfinal results from the 375,750 euros Sicily International ATP tennis tournament on Friday:

Filippo Volandri (Italy) bt Nicolas Massu (Chile) 6-3 3-6 6-4; Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-2 6-4; David Ferrer (Spain) bt Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 6-2 2-6 6-4; Juan Monaco (Argentina) bt Olivier Mutis (France) 6-3 6-2.-Agencies