The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Hewitt takes on Odesnik in final; Jankovic wins Andalucia title

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Hewitt takes on Odesnik in final; Jankovic wins Andalucia title

Hewitt last won a title on clay in 1999
Sania-Chuang pair enters title round

HOUSTON: Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt reached his first clay court final in a decade with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Evgeny Korolev on Saturday at the U.S. men’s clay court tennis championships.

The Aussie veteran, trying to work his way back up the rankings after a left hip surgery last year, will meet American Wayne Odesnik in the final. Odesnik advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Bjorn Phau of Germany.

Milestone beckons

Hewitt won his 498th career match, moving him closer to joining Roger Federer and Carlos Moya as the only active players with 500 wins.

A victory would give Hewitt his first title on clay since he won at Delray Beach in 1999.

Ferrero triumphs

Spain’s former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero won his first title in more than five years on Sunday in taking the 450,000 euros Casablanca claycourt event with a 6-4, 7-5 win over French fifth seed Florent Serra.

First title of the season

World No. 4 Jelena Jankovic battled to a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Carla Suarez Navarro on Sunday to claim her first title of the season at the Andalucia Tennis Championships.

The Spaniard gave Jankovic a stiff test in sunny and breezy conditions on the clay in Marbella but the Serbian second seed prevailed thanks to her consistency and power.

Jankovic won the first set relatively comfortably with two breaks of serve before Suarez Navarro produced a string of superb passing shots to claim the second.

The 34th-ranked Suarez Navarro’s challenge faded in the deciding set and she allowed Jankovic to storm into a 5-1 lead. The Spaniard briefly rallied to break Jankovic as she served for the match and then saved two match points on her serve in the next game.

Wozniak stuns Petrova

At Ponte Vedra Beach, fifth-seeded Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak upset top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Saturday to reach the final of the WTA MPS Group Championships clay court tournament.

Wozniak advanced to a meeting with second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who beat Russia’s Elena Vesnina in the second semifinal 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4).

Brilliant run

Sania Mirza and Chia-Jung Chuang extended their brilliant run by sailing into the final of the $220,000 MPS Group of Championships after a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Liga Dekmeijere and Angela Haynes.

The unseeded Indo-Taipei pair carved out a win over the Latvian-American pair in the semifinal match in just one hour and eight minutes.

In the summit clash, Sania and Chuang will fight it out against the top-seeded pair of Kveta Peschke of Czech Republic and Lisa Raymond of United States, who scored a 4-6, 7-5, 15-13 victory over Barbora Zahlavova Strycov and Caroline Wozniacki in their semifinal match.

The results: At Marbella (Spain) (WTA Andalucia Tennis Experience): Final: Jelena Jankovic bt Carla Suarez 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

At Houston (U.S. clay court championships): Semifinals: Lleyton Hewitt bt Evgeny Korolev 7-6(4), 6-4; Wayne Odesnik bt Bjorn Phau 6-4, 6-3.

At Ponte Vedra Beach (WTA MPS Group Championships): Semifinals: Caroline Wozniacki bt Elena Vesnina 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4); Aleksandra Wozniak bt Nadia Petrova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Doubles: Sania Mirza & Chia-Jung Chuang bt Liga Dekmeijere & Angela Haynes 6-4, 6-3.

At Casablanca (ATP Grand Prix Hassan II): Final: Juan Carlos Ferrero bt Florent Serra 6-4, 7-5. — Agencies

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