DrTagnian

And Schalken is already in the Quarter Finals. In the second round, he defeated Santoro with 5-7, 6-4 and 6-4.

MMB

Henin is through to the next round, as expected

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Nothing new there!

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Defending champion Anastasia Myskina and Svetlana Kuznetsova lined up for only the second ever all-Russian final in the history of women's tennis in the 600,000-dollar WTA Qatar Open on Friday.

The all-Russian affair came about after Kuznetsova extracted revenge for last week's Dubai Open final loss at the hands of Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne by beating the world number one 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 as Myskina ruthlessly cut short American Jennifer Capriati's comeback 6-2, 6-2.

The first final featuring only Russians took place in the same event last year when Myskina beat compatriot Elena Likhovtseva.

Saturday's finale takes place amid increased tensions between Qatar and Russia after tit-for-tat detentions following the assassination of former Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in Doha last month.

Henin-Hardenne's dream of a Gulf double was crushed by her teenage rival on the fog-enveloped Khalifa Complex hardcourts. The Russian also ended a 17-match winning streak which saw the Belgian collect the silverware at Sydney, the Australian Open and Dubai, where she beat Kuznetsova 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

Capriati was lost in the sudden fog which descended on the centre court and Myskina brushed aside her feeble challenge with a flawless performance which left the American searching for answers.

A relaxed Kuznetsova, 18, went into the tie with guns blazing, forcing Henin-Hardenne onto the backfoot in her first service game. The first break came in the sixth game when the Russian converted one of the two breakpoints she had with a solid forehand down the line.

Henin-Hardenne, 21, came under immense pressure by the Russian's daring tactics and dropped her serve in the crucial eighth game, handing over the set to her rival.

Kuznetsova, who debuted in the top-20 on Monday, strived to take all the returns on her strong forehand as Henin-Hardenne struggled to avoid this.

The second set, however, saw the Belgian turn on her tenacious skills and get her foot in before the door slammed shut. She broke Kuznetsova in the third game with a booming smash for 2-1, but failed to capitalise and was broken in the sixth game.

However, Henin-Hardenne effected another break in the seventh game to restore parity.

In the decider, breaks came thick and fast even as visibility narrowed to a few metres. Both players traded breaks till the sixth game when Kuznetsova held serve and got her confidence back. In the next game, she induced Henin-Hardenne to commit unforced errors and notched up the crucial break required to get her nose ahead.

She then served out the ninth game to love to enter her fourth career final.

"I was very relaxed and that was the key," said Kuznetsova, who will be hunting for her third title. "This is my biggest win and I will try not to think about it tonight. I was very focused except for the second set."

"She played extremely well and I was not my usual self," said Henin-Hardenne. "I kept fighting but it was not enough. I was a different player today. I played a lot to her forehand which she likes. I also lost three chances to break her. One doesn't win from there."

Myskina, ranked seventh in the world, needed just two well-timed breaks in the third and seventh breaks to pocket the first set. The Russian, however, had to overcome stiff resistance from world number five Capriati in the second set to win the match.

"I played a smart game," said Myskina. "I knew her backhand was weak and attacked it all the time. It was strange playing there in the fog."

"The conditions were very tough out there. I could hardly sight the ball," said Capriati. "I couldn't find my rhythm and even regular balls were sitting out."

The winner takes home a cheque of 94,000 dollars while the runner-up will have to be content with 50,000 dollars.

PastyHusty

Nothing .. he just had a bad week like the many other seeds who were eliminated early. Quite exciting actually!


That's a great win for Kuznetsova. It's not often we see one of the Belgian girls beaten by someone else other than each other or the Willaims sisters.


F. Lopez is through to the men's final in Dubai. He defeated Youzhny 6-4 4-6 6-4 earlier in their Semi-Final. The second Semi-Final will be contested between Federer (1) and Nieminen.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Its nice to see fresh faces in the final.

PastyHusty

Men's Final in Dubai:

Federer (1) .v. Lopez


Federer defeated Nieminen 7-6 6-2 in his Semi-Final earlier.
Federer will stay top of the rankings regardless of the result.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Andy Roddick overcame 21 aces by his hard-serving opponent to post a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jan-Michael Gambill and advance to the semi-finals of the 380,000 dollar ATP Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic.

Earlier in the day, top seed Roddick dispatched Alex Bogomolov 6-4, 6-3, in a match that was postponed due to heavy rains that washed away Thursday's card.

"It was a long day, but I was prepared to step up to the plate and get going," the defending US Open champion said.

"I knew at the beginning of the day what I was in for, so it's easier when you know what's in store."

Roddick takes on No. 4 seed Vince Spadea, a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 winner over sixth-seeded fellow American James Blake.

MMB

Henin looked tired and seemed to have a lack of concentration during the crucial moments of her match. Still an amazing feature to only lose her first match of the year in March.

Myskina played really well in the final.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

That is an achievement, everyone is allowed an off day once in a while!