Dmitry Tursunov of Russia and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic will clash in the final of the Kingfisher Airlines ATP Mumbai Open.
At the Cricket Club of India on Saturday, the Russian came up with a solid all-round display to shock top seed Tommy Robredo of Spain 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-1, while Berdych had a relatively easier time overcoming Stefan Koubek of Austria 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the earlier semi-final.
Third seed Berdych carried his good form into the semi-finals. Coming straight from his country's Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands, and surprisingly unaffected by the weather in Mumbai, the 21-year-old is yet to lose a set in the tournament.
Koubek's tactics of drop shots and lobs that worked against Mario Ancic in the quarter-finals on Friday, backfired against the athletic Berdych. The Czech was quick on his feet and pulled off some amazing drop and cross court volleys whenever he was drawn into the net.
"I was concentrating on my serve; as long as I get that right the rest falls into place," said Berdych after the match.
The first set saw some grueliing rallies. The Austrian powered from the basline, while Berdych varied his length and angles. Koubek was able to stave off a couple of break-points in the first set to force a tie-breaker.
Berdych was quick off the block, taking a mini-break on Koubek's first serve itself and rushing to a 5-2 lead. With Koubek's backhand not looking as lethal, the Czech powered through to win the tie-break 7-2 and wrap the first set in an hour.
With the momentum and crowd behind him, Berych broke Koubek in the first game of the second set. The Austrian, who had claimed that his superior fitness was the key in his victory over Ancic, seemed to have lost the will to fight after Berdych raised his level a few notches in the second set.
Another break in the seventh game gave Berdych a massive 5-2 lead. He served out the match strongly with a love game.
Tursunov tames Robredo with late charge
It's a mystery how Dmitry Tursunov keeps coming up with sensational winners even while his temper hangs by an erratic thread. The Russian kept finding an open court to thunder down the forehands and served with a sting while muttering under his breath to knock out the top seed in two hours and nine minutes.
Tursunov, struggling with his game and fitness in the first two matches of the tournament, came up with his best game against the Spanish world No 7, under cooler conditions at the Cricket Club of India to battle into the final of the Kingfisher Airlines Open.
The fourth seed kept attacking Robredo's single-handed backhand and opening up the court with every successive ball. With Tursunov calling the shots from the baseline, Robredo was left playing catch up for most of the time.
Tursunov, broken in the seventh game of the first set, drew level in the tenth game. The Spaniard, serving for the set, had a weak service game and Tursunov attacked the second serves to level 5-5.
"I did hit the ball harder," said Tursunov. "But I'm not happy with my energy level and I apologise for acting crassy on court."
He was helped by a couple of net chords, winning the tie-break 7-2 and wrapping up the first set in an hour.
The drop shots proved a crucial weak link in the Russian's game. Rather than go for his strong ground strokes, Tursunov tried to find an easy way out by playing the drop and hope that Robredo didn't make it fast enough.
That wasn't the case, as Robredo sprinted in and more often than not Tursunov was out of place to return the passing shot.
Tursunov also lost his temper in the second set, giving Robredo free points. He served a double fault in the second game of the set to go down 0-2 and was even distracted by a stray cat behind the court. Robredo, a swift mover and gritty fighter, took the set 6-3 to set up a potentially gripping last set.
But the Russian took off on a different plane, hitting the ball harder than ever in the match and going for broke. He cracked a forehand return winner to break Robredo in the first service game. The risks paid off as he stormed to a 5-0 lead in the set. He cracked another service winner to complete victory.
The event had lost its fizz when second seed and crowd favourite Mario Ancic went down to Stefan Koubek of Austria in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Results:
Men's singles semi-finals: 4-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) beat 1-Tommy Robredo (Spain) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-1; 3-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat Stefan Koubek (Austria) 7-6 (2), 6-2.
