Rafa-John finale
Spain's Rafael Nadal rolled over sixth seed Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) on Saturday to set up a Cincinnati Masters final with John Isner.
Isner benefitted as Juan Martin del Potro double-faulted on match point to open the door to the unseeded American, who took full advantage by rallying for a 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 victory.
Nadal, seeded fourth, gave himself a chance at an ATP-leading ninth title of the season and his second in a row at the Masters 1000 level after his triumph in Montreal last week.
Nadal has defeated Isner three times without a loss.
Apart from six double faults in the second set, world number three Nadal had little to complain about in victory, his 52nd match win of the season. He is unbeaten on hardcourts, having won the title at Indian Wells in March before his Montreal win.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams staged comebacks in both sets to defeat China's Li Na 7-5, 7-5 and reach the final of the tournament for the first time. She will face off for the title against world number two Victoria Azarenka, who won a match plagued by breaks of serve -- 23 in total, including the first six games -- to defeat 2011 finalist Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Azarenka and Williams will both be playing for their first title at the tournament.
Azarenka finally earned her victory with a concluding break of former number one Jankovic.
World number one Williams, who has won 15 titles in the last 16 months and is bidding for her ninth this season, needed just over 90 minutes to advance against the error-prone 2012 winner here.
Li ended in unfortunate fashion, double-faulting on a set point in the first and again on match point in the second. Williams claimed her eighth win in nine matches against Li, who had not played in the previous round when opponent Agnieszka Radwanska withdrew to attend a funeral in her native Poland.
Comments