World No. 3 Novak Djokovic roared into his first Masters Cup final with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Gilles Simon yesterday.
The Australian Open champion recovered from a poor first set and weathered a late fight-back to reach the year-end title match at the second attempt after dropping out at the group stage last year.
Today, the 21-year-old from Belgrade will face either fourth-ranked Briton Andy Murray or Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko, who were playing in the later semi-final.
PHOTO: AFP
Djokovic’s victory ends a fairy tale run by Simon, who only qualified for the eight-man event when top-ranked Rafael Nadal pulled out injured, but shocked defending champion Roger Federer to reach the semi-finals.
The piano-playing world No. 9 had been gunning to become the only French end-of-year winner and the first from his country to reach the final since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001.
“This match was so long, so there are so many things to say. But the only thing is he was very aggressive, more than me. He was a little bit lucky sometimes, touching many lines, and finally he won the match,” Simon said.
In an error-strewn first set, Djokovic started slowly and struggled to hold serve as he was broken early and he saved four set points before Simon took the lead 6-4.
The Frenchman got a let-off early in the second as Djokovic bounced a simple forehand off the net with a break point for the taking.
But, after treatment for an apparent neck strain, Simon double-faulted to go a break down, saved more break points at 4-1 and parried a return into the tramlines on the first set point.
Simon gained a lifeline break-back late in the decider, before Djokovic broke again and clinched it with a backhand drop shot.
Djokovic lost all three group matches last year, but this year beat Davydenko and Juan Martin del Potro to top his group.
The Serb has held the third ranking since August last year, winning three tournaments this season, including his breakthrough Grand Slam title in Australia.
Britain’s Murray knocked out Federer in a thrilling three-set match late on Friday.
■ALL JAPAN TOURNAMENT
AFP, TOKYO
Former world No. 4 Kimiko Date won Japan’s national title yesterday, underlining her dominance of Japanese women’s tennis after 12 years in retirement.
Date, 38, cruised through the All Japan Tennis tournament and comfortably defeated 21-year-old Yurika Sema 6-3, 6-3 in the final to lift the winner’s plaque that she last took 16 years ago.
“Since I returned to competition, I set this tournament as a major goal. But I didn’t dream of being able to actually remain in the final and win the title,” said Date, who only returned to the domestic circuit in April. “I have not been able to reach my 100 percent level, where I want to be. But I am content with what I have been able to pull off so far. I cannot deny the fact that I am 38 years old. But more than that, for the past several months, I felt the significance of my absence of 12 years.”
When she returned to competition in April, Date said she would not tempt her fate on the WTA circuit for the time being, limiting her comeback to national tournaments.
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