The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Lopez sends Davydenko packing

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Lopez sends Davydenko packing

DUBAI: Unseeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez reached the final of the Dubai Championships on Friday, recovering from 2-5 in the final set to defeat fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Lopez will next face sixth-seeded American Andy Roddick, who defeated the third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia 7-6(5), 6-3.

Lopez made the worst possible start, salvaging just one point from the first three games. Lopez then made the first of his two recoveries, winning the next four games to take the set, closing it out with his fourth ace.

There was just one break in the second set, when Lopez netted a forehand on break point at 5-4, and the Russian soon gained the upper hand in the third set.

With Lopez struggling to find consistency in all areas of his game, Davydenko broke to lead 3-1 and at 5-2 appeared to be ready to contest his first final since he won Moscow last October.

But Lopez raised his game and swept the final five games.

Davydenko made a spectacular running forehand on the run to save the first match point, but another attempt to play an identical shot on the second match point failed to find the mark.

Bhupathi-Knowles pair advances

Meanwhile in doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi kept the Indian interest alive by advancing to the doubles semifinals along with Mark Knowles. The fourth-seed Indo-Bahamas pair registered a quarterfinal victory over Spanish duo of Rafael Nadal and Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-1.

At Las Vegas, Russia’s Evgeny Korolev upset top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach the Tennis Channel Open quarterfinals.

The results: At Dubai (ATP Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships): Singles: Semifinals: Feliciano Lopez bt Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 4-6, 7-5; Andy Roddick bt Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 6-3. Quarterfinals: Novak Djokovic bt Igor Andreev 6-2, 6-1. Doubles: Quarterfinals: Mahesh Bhupathi & Mark Knowles bt Rafael Nadal & Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-1.

At Las Vegas (ATP Tennis Channel Open): Second round: Robby Ginepri bt Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(2), 6-3; Kevin Anderson bt John Isner 7-6(2), 7-5; Evgeny Korolev bt Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6(4); Ernests Gulbis bt Peter Luczak 6-2, 6-1. — Agencies

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