Ferrero vs. Dent for title in Thailand
NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) -- Top-ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-3 Saturday to advance to the Thailand Open final.
Ferrero will play Taylor Dent for the title Sunday. Dent defeated fifth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the other semifinal.
Ferrero played a consistent baseline game in beating Ljubicic for the first time in three meetings.
The Spaniard led 3-2 in the second set when Ljubicic called for a trainer to massage his right shoulder. The Croat never regained control, holding serve one more time before losing.
"I was returning very well,'' Ferrero said. "That was important because it gave me confidence. I served well. It was a perfect match.''
Dent capitalized on his serve-and-volley game to dominate the first-set tiebreaker. The American had three match points in the second set before winning.
"I came out a little nervous and took a long time to get my rhythm,'' Dent said. "Then I tried to get back, calm down and played nicely.''
Looking toward the final, Ferrero said Dent can pose problems.
"He goes to the net all the time and you have to be confident and not make many mistakes,'' Ferrero said. "It's difficult to break his serves.''
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WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Ferrero: "The key was my returns, I returned very well from the start. It was important for my confidence. I served well, for me it was a perfect match. I had lost my last two matches against him, so I just tried to return well. he was serving well but he started to feel something in his shoulder."
About the final against Dent: "Ljubicic served like Roddick with less speed, Dent goes more for the body all the time. I played him last year in Cincinnati. It was a tough match which I won 7-6 in the third. He goes to the net all the time, you have to have a lot of confidence against him and not make mistakes. If he has a chance he'll break and it tough to break his serve back. If I don't break, have to go to the tiebreak and do my best."
NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) -- Top-ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-3 Saturday to advance to the Thailand Open final.
Ferrero will play Taylor Dent for the title Sunday. Dent defeated fifth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the other semifinal.
Ferrero played a consistent baseline game in beating Ljubicic for the first time in three meetings.
The Spaniard led 3-2 in the second set when Ljubicic called for a trainer to massage his right shoulder. The Croat never regained control, holding serve one more time before losing.
"I was returning very well,'' Ferrero said. "That was important because it gave me confidence. I served well. It was a perfect match.''
Dent capitalized on his serve-and-volley game to dominate the first-set tiebreaker. The American had three match points in the second set before winning.
"I came out a little nervous and took a long time to get my rhythm,'' Dent said. "Then I tried to get back, calm down and played nicely.''
Looking toward the final, Ferrero said Dent can pose problems.
"He goes to the net all the time and you have to be confident and not make many mistakes,'' Ferrero said. "It's difficult to break his serves.''
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WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Ferrero: "The key was my returns, I returned very well from the start. It was important for my confidence. I served well, for me it was a perfect match. I had lost my last two matches against him, so I just tried to return well. he was serving well but he started to feel something in his shoulder."
About the final against Dent: "Ljubicic served like Roddick with less speed, Dent goes more for the body all the time. I played him last year in Cincinnati. It was a tough match which I won 7-6 in the third. He goes to the net all the time, you have to have a lot of confidence against him and not make mistakes. If he has a chance he'll break and it tough to break his serve back. If I don't break, have to go to the tiebreak and do my best."
