Tennis roundup
Sharapova and Molik in Qatar Open final DOHA, Qatar (AP) – Alicia Molik beat top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 (11), 6-1 Friday, advancing to the Qatar Open final against Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova.
Sharapova, seeded second, defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Mauresmo’s loss prevented her from regaining the No. 1 WTA Tour ranking on Monday from Lindsay Davenport. The setback also ended her bid for consecutive titles after winning in Antwerp last weekend.
The fourth-seeded Molik, who lost to Mauresmo in the Antwerp semifinals, reversed the outcome Friday despite a 5-hour rain delay.
“I always expected myself to make it through the weekend here. I am not surprised to see myself in the final,” said Molik.
“But I must tell you that I had to fight hard to win this match. I was so comfortable that I could have played another two sets out there.”
Molik prevailed in the 24-point, first-set tiebreak when Mauresmo netted two consecutive returns after both fought off five set points.
Molik completed the victory with service breaks in the second and sixth games of the second set as a tiring Mauresmo committed a series of mistakes with long returns and poor volleys.
Sharapova broke Hantuchova three times, and has yet to drop a set.
She won her eighth career title at the Tokyo Open this month, then took two weeks off to recover from the flu.
“I am excited to be in the final,” the 17-year-old Russian said. “I am happy with my game and form and I am looking forward to playing Alicia in the final. I am confident that I will play well.”
Molik will also be playing for her second title of 2005 after winning in Sydney in January. She has won three of her five career championships in the last four months, including a three-set win over Sharapova in the Zurich final in October.
Ljubicic, Robredo move into Dubai semifinals
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia beat third-seeded Tim Henman 7-5, 6-4 for the fourth time in a row in a rain-marred quarterfinal of the Dubai Open on Friday.
In the only other quarterfinal possible on the day, fifth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain topped Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-4, 6-4.
The two remaining quarterfinals between two-time defending champion Roger Federer and seventh-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, and fourth-seeded Andre Agassi and No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, were postponed to Saturday because of persistent rain.
Ljubicic and Robredo will then play their semifinal.
Ljubicic, three times a finalist already this year, took 90 minutes to nail Briton Henman again, but the match was stretched over nearly seven hours and interrupted seven times.
“It was very frustrating,” Ljubicic said. “It was very difficult to find any kind of rhythm. We came out, played a couple of games, and just when we were getting into our rhythm, we were back in.”
Henman was out of sorts, too. Usually a net rusher, her played more from the back of the court.
Robredo dominated Kiefer with big forehands from the baseline. The Spaniard was playing his first tournament in a month after an injury layoff.
“I hit some great forehands from the baseline,” said Robredo, who made a first-round exit in Auckland and went out in the third round of the Australian Open in his only previous starts this year. “My baseline game is in really great shape and I hope it keeps going in the semifinal tomorrow.”
Cervanova advance to Mexican open semifinals
ACAPULCO, Mexico – Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy overcame early struggles and leg pains to rally past American Lilia Osterloh 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 Friday and advance to the semifinals of the Mexican Open.
Osterloh built a two-game lead in the opening set, but a slew of aces from her opponent and unforced errors Pennetta rally to tie the set at 3-3. Then Osterloh won three straight game to take the first set before faltering badly.
Pennetta swept the second set despite a lengthy break to receive treatment from trainers for unspecified leg problems. Ranked 30th in the world, she only got stronger from there, easily putting her 112th-ranked opponent away in the decisive set.
“My leg was very bad, for a minute there I couldn’t move,” Pennetta said. “Now it hurts a lot. We are going to do one more treatment session for tomorrow. I don’t know what problem it is yet.”
Also qualifying for the women’s final four was fifth-seeded Dally Randriantefy. She needed just 63 minutes to eliminate No. 3 Emilie Loit 6-3, 6-3.
Randriantefy moves on to face Slovakia’s Ludmila Cervanova, who had even less trouble with Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain, cruising to win 6-2, 6-3.
Ancic defeats Lapentti to advance to semis
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Third-seeded Mario Ancic defeated Giovanni Lapentti of Ecuador 6-1, 6-4 to roll into the semifinals of the Tennis Channel Open on Friday.
Belgian Christophe Rochus and Wayne Arthurs of Australia also had straight-set victories in the quarterfinals.
Rochus beat Davide Sanguinetti of Italy 6-4, 6-3, and the 33-year-old Arthurs – the second-oldest player on the ATP tour – beat Glenn Weiner 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Ancic will face either defending champion Vince Spadea or James Blake, who played in a late quarterfinal match.
Ancic is on a roll after advancing to the semifinals in Marseille and Rotterdam the previous two weeks.
“I am playing very good tennis,” Ancic said. “I am playing really solid the last couple weeks. I am pretty happy with the way I’ve played.”
Rochus reached his first semifinal since Casablanca in May, beating Sanguinetti for the second time in four meetings.
“For me, it’s great,” Rochus said. “I was injured so many months and now I am playing better. I am feeling a little bit lucky.”
Arthurs, a doubles specialist who has yet to win a singles event after 16 years on the tour, was happy to reach his first semifinal since Shanghai in September 2003.
“I’m overjoyed to be in the semifinals,” he said. “I’ve been practicing pretty well and now I am playing well.”