St. Petersburg Open—Russia

Russian favorite Marat Safin faltered in his bid to advance to his final career final at home on Saturday, losing in three tough sets to Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Safin, who has not won a Tour title since claiming the Australian Open in 2005, rallied to take the second set after breaking Stakhovsky at 3-4.

Tied at one set apiece, Safin squandered a break point opportunity during the ninth game of the third set. Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Safin hit two unforced errors to fall behind two match points at 15-40.

Stakhovsky capitalized on his first match point, sending the two-time St. Petersburg champ out of his final Russian tournament. 

Stakhovsky, who won 64 percent of his total service points, improved to 15-14 on the season, while staying on course to capture his first title of year.

"Today beating one of my idols was strange, because I didn't think I was going to be able to do that," Stakhovsky said.

"Marat is a great player and I grew up watching him. To play him and beat him in his final match in Russia is very special for me and something I will remember for a long time. When I got the match points, I still didn't think I couldn't do it."

Safin, who was positive after his defeat, will retire after the upcoming Masters 1000 event in Paris. The two-time Grand Slam champ dropped to 18-21 on the year.

“I’ve reached the semifinals and it’s a good result for my recent form,” Safin said. “I was serving bad through the entire match and I had to risk and made too many unforced errors. Stakhovsky felt it and dominated the match.”

Stakhovsky's interpretation of how the match unfolded was slightly different from his opponent. By contrast, Stakhovsky felt that Safin had served well in the match, particularly in the second set. 

"In the second set, Marat really lifted his serve, and I didn't have a chance to break him. Then in the third set, it was more of the same.

I was really having a hard time on his serve and managed to hold at 4-4 in the third set after saving a break point, and then he presented an opportunity on his serve at 4-5 and I was happy to take it."

With the win, Stakhovsky advanced to his second career final, where he will meet No. 8 seed Horacio Zeballos. Zeballos defeated Russian favorite Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 (7), 6-3. 

Zeballos, who is only playing in his fourth career tournament, has made eight Challenger level finals this year, winning on five occasions.

The 24-year-old Argentine struck 10 aces, while saving one of two break point chances during the one hour and 24 minute encounter.

The Buenos Aires native capitalized on the only break point opportunity by either player in second at 3-2, improving his year-to-date mark to 4-3.

Kunitsyn, who was bidding to reach his first final since winning the Moscow tournament in 2008, fell to 16-30 on the season.

Zeballos alluded to the difficult match that lies ahead against Stakhovsky.

"Tomorrow, it will be very important to be patient in the moments when the pressure is coming. So I will try to do what I do every match, I will try to use my serve and my forehand.

"It’s going to be a really hard match (against Stakhovsky), especially because it’s a final and we don’t play finals every day," said Zeballo.

"I know that he is a really strong opponent but if I keep doing my tactics, I think I will have a lot of chances as I feel so good with my serve."

Zeballos and Stakhovsky will battle in their first career ATP World Tour match on Sunday.

 

Bank Austria Tennis Trophy—Vienna

Vienna born Jurgen Melzer surpassed his seeding of No. 7 this week, advancing to the finals of his hometown tournament by defeating Janko Tipsarevic 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The two hour and 29 minute clash became nothing short of a war of attrition. 

Melzer, who lost the first set despite winning 93 percent of his first serve points (11-12), while striking three aces, found himself in a one hour and five minute second set, which saw the Austrian two points from defeat.

After tying the match at a set apiece, Melzer sustained his motivation for the remainder of the contest. 

The third set remained leveled until Melzer broke Tipsarevic at 4-5, capturing the lone break of serve by either player in the final set.

With the win, Melzer improved to 35-29 on the year and will attempt to become the first Austrian player to win the event since Horst Khoff in 1998.

Tipsarevic, who was attempting to make his second straight final on Tour, fell to 29-23 on the year.

In Sunday's final, Melzer will face top seed Marin Cilic, who defeated No. 4 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Cilic, who has been in stellar form all season, pounded 12 aces and converted on two of eight break point opportunities to oust his German opponent.

Cilic's year has been highlighted by capturing his first and second career titles in (Chennai and Zagreb), while advancing to his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open.

Cilic also defeated world No. 2 Rafael Nadal at the Beijing Open, falling short in the finals to Novak Djokovic.

Cilic's rising star on Tour will take the young Croat to his fourth career final. By advancing to the finals, Cilic improved his head-to-head deficit against Kohlschreiber to 3-2, while improving his year-to-date record to 44-18.

Cilic will take a 3-0 head-to-lead over Melzer into Sunday's championship match.

 

Grand Prix Tennis de Lyon—France

No. 3 seed Ivan Ljubicic, who last made a Tour level final in February of 2008 (Zagreb), served flawlessly in Saturday's semifinal to oust Arnaud Clement 6-2, 6-4.

Clement, who had defeated top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an epic three-set encounter on Friday, couldn't muster up a single break point opportunity against his Croatian opponent.

Facing only two break points in his four matches this week, Ljubicic pounced on the weak serve of his opponent throughout the one hour and 20 minute affair.

After breaking Clement twice in the first set, Ljubicic kept his returning onslaught persistent in second set, breaking the Frenchman in the ninth game to close out the match.

With the win, Ljubicic improved to 30-21 on the season, while increasing his head-to-head lead over Clement to 8-2 lifetime.

Clement, who was in search of his first Tour final since June 2007 (Nottingham), fell to 12-18 on the year. Clement's improved play as of late has been spurred on by increased fitness. The Geneva resident also advanced to the quarterfinals in Stockholm last week (loss to Marcos Baghdatis).

"I don't think I was tired today," reflected Clement.

"Of course, I had a long match last night against Tsonga, and maybe it made a small difference, but I felt good on the court today. I think that Ivan played a very, very good match. He was too good today, and I think he's playing at a very high level.

"Still, I'm really happy with the past few weeks. No matter what happens between now and the end of the season, I will have a very positive outlook on my season, which is motivating for next year."

Ljubicic, who will be in search of his ninth career title on Sunday, faces the left-handed challenge of Michael Llodra.

Llodra, who advanced to his second final in France this season (Marseilles), improved to 4-0 against Gilles Simon, defeating his countryman 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(1).

Matching Ljubicic's serving display against Clement, Llodra struck 24 aces, while never facing a break point against his top ten opponent.

Llodra, who is ranked No. 107 in the world, enters Sunday final with a 3-3 career mark in Tour finals.

Sunday's final will undoubtedly bring forth a tremendous serving contest. Llodra currently leads the pair's head-to-head 1-0, and will hold the support of his hometown fans.

"I feel like my serve is working very well, and also my volleying as well," said Llodra. "I'm trying to put a lot of pressure on my opponents, and taking away the rhythm. I know that when I'm playing well and feeling fit, I can be very dangerous on this kind of surface and tough to play against."

Ljubicic agreed with the sentiments of his finals opponent.

"It's going to be a tough match tomorrow," said Ljubicic. "He will have the home crowd and will be pumped up. I think it's a 50-50 chance. It's going to be a couple of points here and there. It's difficult to predict this kind of match."

Please check back on Sunday for a finals wrap up from St. Petersburg, Vienna and Lyon.

Quotes courtesy of theatpworldtour.com