The Hindu : Sport : Murray beats Nadal to win title

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Murray beats Nadal to win title

Paes & Dlouhy lose title match; Bopanna & Nieminen in SAP final

— PHOTO: AP

LAST MAN STANDING: Andy Murray proved the more resilient in the final into which both he and Rafael Nadal carried injuries, winning in three sets.

ROTTERDAM: Andy Murray fought off a second set debacle to win the ABN Amro Open, beating top-seed and World No.1 Rafael Nadal 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in the marquee final on Sunday.

The erratic match — which saw seven breaks of serve in the second set — marked the second successive win for Murray over the Spanish World No. 1 following his US Open semifinal win last September.

Murray showed no sign of his existing ankle problem as he notched up his tenth career title and improved his record against Nadal to 2-5.

Nadal was treated on his right thigh after the third game of the second set, sure signs of a week which has taken a toll on the Australian Open winner.

Murray became the first Briton to win Rotterdam after three runner-up finishes by Tim Henman. He improves to 13-1 on the season with titles in Doha and here.

In the doubles, Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy stumbled at the final hurdle, losing 6-2, 7-5 to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. The second seeded Indo-Czech pair squandered six breakpoints — three in each set — to lose the final in one hour and two minutes.

Mauresmo triumphs

Local favourite Amelie Mauresmo confirmed her return to form when she beat Russian third seed Elena Dementieva 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-4 to clinch her third Paris Open title on Sunday.

The Frenchwoman, who dropped to 24th in the WTA rankings after reaching the top spot in 2004, ended a two hour-38-minute contest on her second matchpoint. Eighth-seeded Mauresmo was winner here in 2001 and 2006.

Stepanek stuns Roddick

Fourth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek rallied to beat top seed and defending champion Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach the final of the SAP Open in San Jose on Saturday.

Stepanek will meet Mardy Fish who scored a 6-3, 6-2 victory over third-seeded James Blake.

Blake trailed 1-2 in the first set when he asked for a trainer and had his ankle re-taped. He had the process repeated at the end of the first set, but to no avail.

The trainer told Blake he wouldn’t damage the ankle further, so the American decided to continue.

Rohan Bopanna and Jarkko Nieminen dumped fourth seeded Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins 3-6 7-6 (5) 10-5 to make the doubles final. Bopanna and his Finnish partner will lock horns with Tommy Haas of Germany and Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic, who got a walkover from Americans James Blake and Mardy Fish.

Robredo takes title

Spanish second seed Tommy Robredo overcame a determined Thomaz Bellucci to win the Brazil Open in Costa do Sauipe with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win on Saturday.

After mastering the first set, Robredo was stunned in the second by the dynamic game of the young Brazilian, who in between baseline rallies, did not hesitate to rush to the net.

Robredo, 19th in the ATP rankings, then dug deep in the deciding set to prevent the Bellucci, the World No. 84, causing an upset on home soil.

The results: At Rotterdam (ABN Amro Open): Final: Andy Murray bt Rafael Nadal 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. Semifinals: Rafael Nadal bt Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4. Doubles: Final: Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic bt Leander Paes & Lukas Dlouhy 6-2, 7-5.

At Paris (Paris Open): Final: Amelie Mauresmo bt Elena Dementieva 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-2.

At San Jose (SAP Open): Semifinals: Mardy Fish bt James Blake 6-3, 6-2; Radek Stepanek bt Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Doubles: Rohan Bopanna & Jarkko Nieminen bt Stephen Huss & Ross Hutchins 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-5.

At Costa do Sauipe (Brazil Open): Final: Tommy Robredo bt Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

At Dubai (Dubai Open): Women’s singles: First round: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova bt Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-4; Vera Dushevina bt Yan Zi 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; Zheng Jie bt Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 6-1; Alisa Kleybanova bt Anna Lapushchenkova 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Julia Schruff bt Petra Kvitova 6-3, 2-6, 6-4; Sybille Bammer bt Mariya Koryttseva 6-1, 6-4; Tsvetana Pironkova bt Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-2, 6-3; Sara Errani bt Chan Yung-Jan 6-4, 6-4; Kaia Kanepi bt Tamira Paszek 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. — Agencies

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