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Andy Roddick of the US holds up the trophy after beating Dudi Sela of Israel in the final of the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing yesterday. Roddick held off a fierce challenge from underdog Sela to win the final 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3. |
Andy Roddick tamed giant killer Israel's Dudi Sela in a hard-fought victory to capture the China Open title as top seed Jelena Jankovic secured the women's title yesterday at Beijing Tennis Center.
Sela took the scalps of several major players including world No 5 and top seed David Ferrer, sixth seed Tommy Robredo and seventh seed Rainer Schuettler en route to his first ATP final.
He gave another high-quality performance yesterday but that was not enough for Roddick who blasted 17 aces in the 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 win while Jankovic thumped Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets.
This is the third title of the season and the 26th in total for Roddick, who is tying in third place with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Gilles Simon on the singles titles' leader board.
Making his debut in Beijing, he became the third American male tennis player win a title in the Chinese capital. Starting from 1993, Michael Chang won three consecutive titles at the Beijing Salem Open, followed by Jim Courier who titled in 1997. The Beijing Salem Open was removed from the tour calendar but reinstated in 2004.
"I saw him (Sela) play yesterday and he probably played the best of anyone this tournament," Roddick said. "To beat Ferrer, Robredo and Schuettler - it's tough to chalk that up as a coincidence. He was definitely playing well this week and I thought he played well today also."
World No 92 Sela impressed the crowd by saving two match points at 6-4 in the second set tie-break. He won four straight points and forced a third set.
However, Sela, playing in his first ATP final, apparently lacked the experience of Roddick in his 40th ATP final. He was broken in the sixth game of the third, which proved sufficient for Roddick to wrap up the two-hour match. The American now holds a perfect 9-0 record in the finals against players challenging for their maiden ATP title.
"I knew in the back of my mind that I was playing in my 40th final and he was in his first one, so I knew that had to count for something," Roddick added.
Sela, the first Israeli to reach an ATP singles final since Harel Levy at Nottingham, admitted his nerves cost him early in the match and, more importantly, the crucial sixth game in the decider.
"I'm not used to staying concentrated like that for a long time. Tennis is a mental game and at 2-3 (in the third set) I missed two easy shots. I went for too much and hit into the net and he hit a good return down the line, and suddenly I'm 0-40 and it's a lot of pressure when you play against him because you know you have to hold your serve every time," he said.
Roddick's trademark huge serves were also devastating for the Tel Aviv resident who was bidding to become the first Israeli title winner since Amos Mansdorf in Washington in 1993.
"I was very nervous at the beginning of the match and couldn't read his serve at all. But as the match continued I saw a little bit more where he was serving and could just block it back," he added.
With the amazing week in Beijing, Sela has improved to 15-21 this season and hopes to finish the season within the world's top 100 and break into the world's top 60 next season.
In the women's final, top seed and 2007 runner-up Jankovic beat Russia's Kuznetsova, the 2006 winner, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour, 14 minutes.
Jankovic's victory in the $600,000 women's tournament takes her to within a handful of points of world No 1 Serena Williams.
Meanwhile in the men's doubles final, Australia's Stephen Huss and Britain's Ross Hutchins beat Australian Ashley Fisher and Bobby Reynolds, from the United States, 7-5, 6-4.
(China Daily September 29, 2008)