MELBOURNE: Belgian David Goffin put the final polish on his game for the Australian Open by beating explosive Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to win the Kooyong Classic.
The world number 16 overcame a lightning start from Lopez, three behind him in the rankings, with the Spaniard producing love games on his first two serves before simmering down.
The set turned in an instant at 4-4 with Lopez broken for 4-5 and Goffin snapping up the set after 33 minutes. The Belgian took full advantage of his lead by breaking to start the second set.
With the Lopez game suddenly in freefall, Goffin consolidated with a break for 3-0 and moved out to 5-2.
Lopez rallied briefly in the penultimate game, saving three match points and holding for 2-5 with his seventh ace of the afternoon before Goffin served out to secure the title.
The Belgian finished in just over an hour with 17 winners and five breaks of serve; Lopez was felled by 29 unforced errors, going nil-for-six on break point chances.
“It was a fantastic week for me. This is the best way to prepare for the Grand Slam. The conditions (rain, heat) are just what you expect for the Open,” said Goffin, who begins at the Australian Open next week against Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky.
In the playoff for third and fourth place, Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta defeated Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4, 3-6, 10-3.
KUZNETSOVA LIFTS SYDNEY TROPHY
SYDNEY: Veteran Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova breezed past Monica Puig to win her 16th career title with a straight sets victory in the final of the Sydney International on Friday.
The 25th-ranked Kuznetsova took just 55 minutes to claim a 6-0, 6-2 victory over the 94th-ranked Puerto Rican in a one-sided final at Ken Rosewall Arena.
The 30-year-old, who was making her 11th appearance at the Sydney tournament, served at a high 69 percent with eight aces and broke Puig’s serve five times.
It capped a memorable tournament for Kuznetsova, who upset world number two Simona Halep in a rain-interrupted semi-final earlier Friday 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3 in two hours 44 minutes.
Results (x denotes seed):
Men’s:
Quarter-finals: Gilles Muller (LUX) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA x6) 7-6 (7/5), 6-3; Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) bt Bernard Tomic (AUS x1) 6-3, 3-0 retired (illness); Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x4) bt Aleksandr Dolgopolov (UKR x8) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Viktor Troicki (SRB x3) bt Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Semi-finals: Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x4) bt Gilles Muller (LUX) 6-2, 7-6 (7/4); Viktor Troicki (SRB x3) bt Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Women’s:
Semi-finals: Monica Puig (PUR) bt Belinda Bencic (SUI x8) 6-0, 0-0 retired (illness); Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) bt Simona Halep (ROM x1) 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3.
BOUCHARD TO FACE CORNET
HOBART: Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard will play Alize Cornet of France in the final of the Hobart International after overcoming the top remaining seed Dominika Cibulkova in Friday’s semi-final.
The former world number five showed glimpses of her best form to claim a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over third seeded Cibulkova of the Slovak Republic in two hours to reach the final.
Seventh seed Cornet breezed past Sweden’s Johanna Larsson 6-1, 6-1 in the other semi-final to reach Saturday’s final in just 54 minutes.
“That was a great level for me, I can’t remember the last time I played that well,” Bouchard said.
FERRER REACHES FINAL
AUCKLAND: Jack Sock overcame a dose of the flu to score an upset win over top-seed David Ferrer in the ATP Auckland Classic on Friday to set up a final showdown against Roberto Bautista Agut.
Sock won his semi-final 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to dash Ferrer’s hopes of a record fifth title in Auckland, while Bautista Agut also came from a set down to beat the second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.
Charismatic Sock, ranked 26, complained of feeling unwell before the match and was a doubtful starter.
But at the end he joked that perhaps it would be best if he stayed unwell for the Australian Open as illness brought out the best in him.
“It was a difficult day. I woke up with some flu-like symptoms. I didn’t know if I was going to play,” said Sock, who at the end of the match produced his newly adopted trademark of throwing a sock into the crowd.
Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2016