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GSTAAD (Switzerland), July 13: Jiri Novak beat home hero and Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in five sets to win the Swiss Open on Sunday and then declared: “I love playing at altitude.”
His victory assured him of his first ATP title in two years since successful in this Swiss Alpine resort in 2001 and his fifth championship in all.
But, more notably perhaps, it was also his third title at altitude - a fact not lost on Novak or Federer.
“His serve has a lot more bounce here than it has anywhere else and this court and the altitude really seemed to suit his game,” said Federer after being beaten 5-7 6-3 6-3 1-6 6-3.
Novak has won on clay at altitude in Mexico City in 1998, Gstaad in 2001 and again in Gstaad on Sunday. He was also a beaten finalist in Mexico in 1996.
“I love coming to Gstaad and it is something special to me now,” said Novak. “This is the best win of my career and it proves I am right to say I like playing on these courts in the mountains.”
He told reporters: “I can play faster tennis from the baseline and I am better like that when the ball is flying. I like it because I have the right game for it and I don’t like to go to the net too often.”
Novak’s win added his name to a list of Gstaad multiple champions, but left Federer still seeking a first victory on home Swiss soil after three final appearances.
He also lost in the Swiss Indoors finals in Basel in 2000 and 2001, against Thomas Enqvist of Sweden and Briton Tim Henman respectively.
The Swiss said: “This place seems to suit him (Novak) better than me. But this was a better final for me than my two previous ones. I hope to come back in the future and win.”
BASTAD (Sweden): Argentine fifth seed Mariano Zabaleta won the second title of his career on Sunday, beating Nicolas Lapentti 6-3 6-4 in the Swedish Open final.
Zabaleta, who ousted top seed Carlos Moya in the semis, had waited five years for a title since his maiden success in Bogota.
It was an emotional win for the 25-year-old who fell to his knees after clinching victory on his second match point.
“This was a great win, I worked very hard for this,” Zabaleta said. “This year I set out a goal to win a tournament.
“I played very good, my serving was consistent, I think I played perfect for a long time.”
Zabaleta said beating Moya and Russian Mikhail Youzhny on his way to the final had boosted his confidence.
Ecuador’s Lapentti, the former world number six, could not match Zabaleta’s dominant baseline play and was hindered by a sore calf muscle in the second set.
Zabaleta broke him in the fourth game of the match and held serve to take the first set 6-3.
After trading breaks in the opening games of the second set both men held serve to 4-4. Lapentti was then broken and Zabaleta served out for victory.
Zabaleta and Lapentti, good friends on the tour, meet again in the first round of a claycourt tournament in Stuttgart next week.— Reuters
