October 29, 2007	Monday	Shawwal 16, 1428

BASEL (Switzerland), Oct 28: World No 1 Roger Federer brought down towering Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 7-6 on Saturday to reach the final of his hometown tournament.

Federer, defending the Swiss Indoors title he won last year, will now face unseeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen who defeated 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 7-6, 6-2.

Giving away 23 cms in height to the 2.08-metre Karlovic, Federer struggled against the Croatian’s formidable serve early in the match and was forced to defend a set point at 4-5 in the opening set.

Federer will be a heavy favourite against Nieminen who has lost all seven of their previous encounters, failing to take a single set.

ALL-FRENCH FINAL

LYON (France): Frenchman Marc Gicquel saved two matchpoints to reach the Lyon tournament final for the second year in succession when he beat Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 on Saturday.

Gicquel, bidding for his first ATP title, will take on Sebastien Grosjean in Sunday’s all-French final after the former French No 1 thrashed compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 6-2.

CONTROVERSY

ST PETERSBURG: British second seed Andy Murray saved a matchpoint and overcame a controversial line call to beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 in the semi-finals of the St Petersburg Open on Saturday.

Youzhny served for the match at 5-3 in the decider but the 20-year-old Scot broke back, then saved a matchpoint in the next game to level at 5-5.

With the third seed clearly upset with himself for the lost opportunity, Murray took his chance, clinching victory after two-and-a-half hours when Youzhny double-faulted on matchpoint to throw away the tiebreak 7-1.

Murray will face Fernando Verdasco in the final after the Spanish sixth seed overwhelmed Croatian qualifier Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-3 in the second semi-final.

SCHNYDER IN FINAL

LINZ (Austria): Patty Schnyder defeated third seed Marion Bartoli of France 7-6, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the final of the Linz Open.

It will be Schnyder’s second final of the year after San Diego and she will be seeking the 11th title of her career against second-seeded Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, who saved a matchpoint before edging past fifth-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova 2-6, 6-2, 7-6.—Reuters