The Hindu : Sport : Djokovic stuns Federer for Rogers Cup

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Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007
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Sport

Djokovic stuns Federer for Rogers Cup

Mahesh Bhupathi and Pavel Vizner claim doubles title

MONTREAL: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic produced the performance of his career to beat World No.1 and defending champion Roger Federer 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2) to win the Montreal Masters tennis on Sunday.

After beating Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal on his way to final, the third seed claimed the biggest scalp in tennis to secure his fourth title in 2007.

“This is the best tournament of my career,” Djokovic told the crowd.

“I won a (Masters) in Miami but here I beat the No.3 (Roddick) in the quarterfinals, the No.2 (Nadal) in the semifinals and in the final, I beat the No.1.

“I couldn’t ask for more. I played some impressive tennis all week. This is a dream come true. And I hope he’s not angry, but I’d like to say to Roger that he can’t win everything, sometimes somebody else has to win.”

Federer had been the overwhelming favourite to win his third Masters crown in Canada in as many appearances but instead suffered his first defeat in five meetings against Djokovic after producing 48 unforced errors.

The 20-year-old from Belgrade attacked the Federer backhand relentlessly throughout, ripping forehands up the line for a series of winners.

He saved six set points in the first set before snatching it on a tie-break 7-2.

The Swiss top seed lifted his game in the second set, breaking the Serb twice to level the contest.

Djokovic broke in the opening game of the third set only to let a 4-2 lead slip as the Swiss hit back to 4-4.

But the Serb, who will return to third in the rankings when the new list is released on Monday, held his nerve to win the tie-break 7-2 and seal his second Masters Series title.

Federer praised Djokovic’s performance.

“He is definitely one of the best players in the world and he deserved to win today,” he said.

First win

The doubles combination of Mahesh Bhupathi and Pavel Vizner tasted their first success on the ATP tour as they ousted the higher-ranked Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett in straight sets to clinch the Rogers Masters title.

The Indo-Czech pair, seeded eighth, overwhelmed fifth seed Australia’s Hanley and Zimbabwe’s Ullyett 6-4, 6-4 in a fiercely-contested battle which lasted one hour and eight minutes.

The Indo-Czech duo had ousted a trio of higher seeds, including No.1 Bob and Mike Bryan of the U.S. in the semifinals, 6-2, 4-6, 12-10, en route to the summit clash.

The win was Bhupathi’s 40th career doubles title and the seasoned Indian said he was now aiming to win 10 more before deciding on his future.

“I guess four, five years ago I set the goal at 50, so 80 per cent there. And see how long I can play, as long as I can enjoy it. At some point I would like to get there, but one step at a time,” he said after the match on Sunday.

Crucial break points

The two teams matched each other shot for shot for most of the match but Bhupathi and Vizner converted a couple of crucial break points, while their opponents were unsuccessful on their only chance.

Although they were pairing up for the first time, Bhupathi and Vizner were a well-accomplished team thanks to their individual careers. Bhupathi had 39 career ATP doubles titles to his credit, including four Grand Slams, while Vizner held 14 ATP doubles titles.

Ivanovic triumphs

Ana Ivanovic continued her impressive form with a powerful 7-5, 6-4 victory over Nadia Petrova in the Los Angeles Classic final at Carson on Sunday. Ivanovic initially had trouble finding rhythm on her serve but once she located the corners of the court she began to control the rallies.

The fourth-seeded Petrova tried to punch holes in Ivanovic’s backhand, but the Serb moved quickly to utilise her huge forehand. Ivanovic broke Petrova to 5-4 when the Russian missed a forehand down the line, but Petrova broke her back to 5-5 when Ivanovic erred on a backhand. But Ivanovic kept going for her shots and broke Petrova again to 6-5 when she powered an inside out forehand return of serve winner.

Ivanovic immediately broke Petrova at the start of the second set and never looked back, the Russian failing to create a single break point. Ivanovic impressively closed out the match in the final game, torching four straight winners, including a 102 mph serve out wide to clinch victory.

The results: At Montreal: Montreal Masters (ATP Rogers Cup): Singles: Final: Novak Djokovic bt Roger Federer 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2).