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BANGKOK, Oct 1: Teenaged British wild card entry Andy Murray defied all the odds Saturday as he rallied past local hero Paradorn Srichaphan 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-2 to set up a miracle final at the 550,000-dollar Thailand open against peerless Roger Federer.
It was business as usual for the Federer as friendship temporarily went out the window in a brief 6-3, 6-4 semifinal rout of Jarkko Nieminen.
The holder will bid for his 11th trophy this season with only Murray standing in the way.
The Scot calmly ignored a losing first set, recovering without hesitation against the seventh seeded Paradorn.
Murray favoured his right wrist while the Thai was treated for cramping in the third set and was limited in his movement in the closing stages.
Murray fought to victory in a final game featuring three deuces, claiming the win of his career when the Thai couldn’t touch a service return stringer down the line after nearly two-and-a-half hours on court.
Bjorkman in final
HO CHI MINH CITY: Number three seed Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic could finally win his first career singles title in the final of the Vietnam Open against Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman on Sunday.
Stepanek, a singles finalist this year in Milan, outgunned Sweden’s Thomas Johansson, the number two seed, 7-5, 6-4 Saturday to claim the first final spot in the 380,000 dollar event.
Bjorkman, with five singles titles to his name but none so far this year, coasted into the second final spot with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against top seed Mariano Puerta of Argentina.
final showdown
SEOUL: Top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and No.2 seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic will meet in the Korea Open final on Sunday.
Jankovic, ranked 17 in the world, set up a final clash with the tournament’s youngest player, 16-year-old Vaidisova, by defeating rising French star Tatiana Golovin 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Vaidisova defeated Catalina Castano of Colombia 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the finals.—Agencies
