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TORONTO, Aug 4: Medical miracle Guillermo Canas put his bionic wrist to best use Saturday, upsetting third seed Tommy Haas 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) with a third-set come-back to reach the final of the Canada Masters Series.
The 24-year-old Argentine has been bothered for weeks by a right wrist problem which has required the use of pain killers during his first week of the summer on the North American hard-courts.
But breaking through the pain barrier was only part of the job for the right-hander, who knocked out his fourth seed of the week on the way to the title match at the National Tennis Centre.
Canas was scheduled to play 12th-seeded American teenager Andy Roddick in Sunday’s final. Roddick beat Czech Jiri Novak in Saturday’s other semi-final 6-4, 6-3.
Haas tenth in the Champions points race and third in the entry ranking, joined Roger Federer and Russians Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin on the Canas scrap-heap this week.
SATURDAY’S RESULTS (PREFIX NUMBER DENOTES SEEDING):
SEMIFINALS: 12-Andy Roddick (US) beat 14-Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) 6-4, 6-3; Guillermo Canas (Argentina) beat 3-Tommy Haas (Germany) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5).
VENUS ON COURSE
SAN DIEGO (California): Top seed Venus Williams moved within one victory of her third successive Acura Classic title, destroying third seed Lindsay Davenport 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals Saturday.
The world number two will meet sixth seed Jelena Dokic in the final after the Yugoslav saved two match points on the way to overcoming popular Russian Anna Kournikova 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 earlier in the day.
Williams drew level 10-10 with Davenport in their head-to-head career series after easily handling her fellow American’s serve and dominating their baseline exchanges.
Davenport, playing in only her second tournament since undergoing knee surgery last January, only held serve twice in a one-sided semifinal.
Saturday’s results:
SEMIFINALS: 1-Venus Williams (US) beat 3-Lindsay Davenport (US) 6-2, 6-1; 6-Jelena Dokic (Yugoslavia) beat Anna Kournikova (Russia) 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-2), 6-0.—AFP/Reuters
