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DUBAI, March 9: When Andy Roddick defeated Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 to win the Dubai Open Championships on Saturday, he did it against the odds.
The sixth-seeded American had arrived late after competing in Memphis the week before and admitted that he almost sleepwalked through his first two rounds.
“I was literally asleep before my first match, on the floor in the players lounge with people stepping over me and (Novak) Djokovic dropping stuff on me,” said Roddick after his victory.
“I actually didn’t warm up that day because I was pretty tired. I really didn’t know what to expect coming in, and maybe that’s why I played well. Who knows?”
In addition to jet-lag, Roddick was imbedded in a half of the draw that included two reigning Grand Slam champions, Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.
But the former world No 1 wanted to test himself against the best and he came out on top in both encounters without the loss of a set or even a service break.
LAS VEGAS OPEN
LAS VEGAS (Nevada): South African qualifier Kevin Anderson defeated American wildcard Robby Ginepri 7-6, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the Las Vegas Open.
Anderson will face unseeded American Sam Querrey, who beat fourth-seeded Argentine Guillermo Canas 7-5, 6-2.The 21-year-old Anderson, ranked 175th in the world and bidding to become the first South African to win an ATP final since Wesley Moodie won in Tokyo in October 2005, took the opening set 7-4 on a tiebreak.
Although his first-serve percentage slipped in the second, he was broken only once as he clinched victory in one hour and 28 minutes.
The 20-year-old Querrey, ranked 66th and looking for his first ATP title, converted five of nine break points to upset the 20th-ranked Canas in one-hour, 39 minutes.
SERENA, SCHNYDER IN FINAL
BANGALORE: Serena Williams beat her older sister Venus on Saturday to win a place in the Bangalore Open final against Swiss Patty Schnyder.
World No 11 Serena beat Venus, the number seven, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in a thrilling semi-final lasting two hours 10 minutes after fourth seed Schnyder had dispatched China’s Yan Zi 6-3, 6-4.
The American sisters, who have won 14 Grand Slam singles titles between them, were meeting for the first time since the 2005 US Open fourth round.
Serena broke second seed Venus in the fifth and ninth games to win the opening set.
Venus came back strongly to win the second but Serena took the deciding tiebreak 7-4 after each had wasted a match point earlier in the third set.
Serena now leads their head-to-head series 8-7.
Schnyder broke Yan, who stunned top seed Jelena Jankovic in the quarter-finals, in the fifth and ninth games to wrap up the first set.
World No 54 Yan staged a recovery in the second before Schnyder broke twice more to seal victory.—Reuters
