'Scud' destroys Kuerten
BBC news
Saturday, 18 November, 2000, 20:01 GMT
Australian Mark Philippoussis produced a mammoth effort to beat top seed Gustavo Kuerten and make the final of the ATP Paris Masters tournament.
The big serving Aussie came through 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (13/11) in a match which lasted nearly two hours.
The 24-year-old ended proceedings with his fourth match point after a tense finale.
The Aussie now faces second-seeded Marat Safin of Russia, who leads Kuerten by just 20 points in the ATP Champions Race.
Brazilian Kuerten was denied his fifth title of a season which started when he won the French Open.
Indoor gloom
But the Brazilian was deprived of a first indoors title after his volleying let him down too often and Philippoussis never gave him in inch.
The last time the pair met, Kuerten, nicknamed 'Guga', dropped just four games but this game could not have been more different.
Both men had litle difficulty holding serve in the 50-minute opening set, hammering down seven aces each and prompting the inevitable tiebreak.
Philippoussis managed a minibreak for 2-0 when Kuerten fired into the tramlines and the Brazilian then hit long to gift the Aussie a 5-1 lead.
Philippoussis finally secured the set on his third set point with a cross-court volley.
Second tiebreak
The second set was just as tight and after handing Philippoussis a break point at 5-5 Kuerten got out of jail with his 11th ace.
Once again a tiebreak had to separate the two and Kuerten appeared to have it won as he raced to a 6-3 lead.
But Philippoussis showed huge determination to claw his way back and scored two mini-breaks to save a first match point and then finish off the match.
He said: "It feels great when you win a match like that. I felt I had so much confidence."
Safin, in stark contrast to his opponent in the final, thrashed Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-2 in just 56 minutes, including five breaks of the Ferrero serve.
The Russian, who was beaten by Andre Agassi in his debut at the tournament last year, is ready to make Paris his seventh title of the year to extend his lead at the top of the ATP rankings.
PHILIPPOUSSIS SHOCKS KUERTEN TO BOOK PARIS FINAL
sportscentral
After the tensest of battles, Australian 13th seed Mark Philippoussis shocked top seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (13/11) in a 1hr 52min battle Saturday to set up a final with Russian Marat Safin at the $US2.95 million Paris Masters Series.
Philippoussis, 24, squandered three match points before Kuerten fired into the tramlines at the end of a match which had a sole break point throughout.
The Aussie now faces second-seeded Safin, who led Kuerten by just 20 points at the top of the ATP Champions Race before thrashing 12th-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-2 in just 56min.
Philippoussis, defeated in last year's Paris final on his first appearance by American Andre Agassi, was delighted to have pulled his match out of the fire against Kuerten after walking a tightrope in the second set tiebreaker.
"I knew it was going to be an extra tough match. Anything could've happened in the second set tiebreak. I just managed to get the points at the end.
"It feels great when you win a match like that. I felt I had so much confidence."
In his first match against Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia the Aussie lost the first set 6-1 for the worst of starts before coming through two tiebreaks.
"I was thinking about going home to Miami," joked the Florida-based star.
Philippoussis now hopes to claim his second Masters success after Indian Wells last year as well as his ninth career title overall.
Safin, who has won a Tour-leading six titles this year, was even more delighted with his win - and not just the speed with which he achieved it despite some below-par serving as he broke the Ferrero serve five times.
He now adds another 25 points to his ranking account and can go to the Lisbon Masters Cup starting November 28 with a healthier advantage than when he arrived here.
"It wasn't only my job getting to number one - it was the coaches I've had and the public," said the 20-year-old Russian. Without their support I wouldn't be here.
"It'll be a tough final but we'll see. I will fight and give everything. Let's see what happens.
French Open champion Kuerten had been aiming to land his fifth title of the year - but was deprived of a first indoors title after his volleying let him down, while Philippoussis never gave him in inch.
Until this his third visit here Kuerten had not managed to win a single indoor match in Paris - but with the crowd solidly behind him this week he had found a rich vein of form. That form slipped below the mark Saturday.
"Sometimes you try to do the right thing - and do it wrong. It's part of the game," Kuerten said wryly afterwards.
"It was close - but I missed opportunities. But it was a good week for me - I had chances to be in the final."
On the consequences of his defeat for the Champions Race he said simply: "I think everything's going to be decided in Lisbon.
"There are a lot of points (at stake) there. As long as I have a chance I'll keep trying," said the Brazilian, who had soundly beaten Philippoussis in their only previous encounter in Rome in May.
In the second set tiebreak Kuerten appeared to have it won as he raced to a 6-3 lead.
But Philippoussis showed huge determination to claw his way back and scored two mini breaks to save a first match point.
The match-point, set-point pendulum swung back and forth constantly, "Guga" saving a third match point with a smash 10-10 before his miscued forehand put Philippoussis through.
Philippoussis shocks Kuerten to book Safin showdown
ABC News
After the tensest of battles, Australian 13th seed Mark Philippoussis has shocked top seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil 7-6, 7-6 in a 112 minute battle to set up a final with Russian Marat Safin at the Paris Masters Series.
Philippoussis, 24, squandered three match points before Kuerten fired into the tramlines at the end of a match which had a sole break point throughout.
He now faces second-seeded Safin, who led Kuerten by just 20 points at the top of the ATP Champions Race before thrashing 12th-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-2 in just 56 minutes.
Philippoussis, defeated in last year's Paris final on his first appearance by American Andre Agassi, was delighted to have pulled his match out of the fire against Kuerten after walking a tightrope in the second set tiebreaker.
"I knew it was going to be an extra tough match. Anything could've happened in the second set tiebreak. I just managed to get the points at the end. It feels great when you win a match like that. I felt I had so much confidence."
Philippoussis now hopes to claim his second Masters success after Indian Wells last year as well as his ninth career title overall.
Safin, who has won a Tour-leading six titles this year, was even more delighted with his win - and not just the speed with which he achieved it despite some below-par serving as he broke the Ferrero serve five times.
He now adds another 25 points to his ranking account and can go to the Lisbon Masters Cup starting November 28 with a healthier advantage than when he arrived here.
French Open champion Kuerten had been aiming to land his fifth title of the year - but was deprived of a first indoors title after his volleying let him down, while Philippoussis never gave him in inch.
"Sometimes you try to do the right thing - and do it wrong. It's part of the game," Kuerten said wryly afterwards. "It was close - but I missed opportunities. But it was a good week for me - I had chances to be in the final."
On the consequences of his defeat for the Champions Race he said simply: "I think everything's going to be decided in Lisbon.
In the second set tiebreak Kuerten appeared to have it won as he raced to a 6-3 lead.
But Philippoussis showed huge determination to claw his way back and scored two mini breaks to save a first match point.
The match-point, set-point pendulum swung back and forth constantly, with the Brazilian saving a third match point with a smash 10-10 before his miscued forehand put Philippoussis through.
Philippoussis knocks out top seed in Paris
Source: AFP|Published: Sunday November 19, 12:01 PM
sportserver.com
PARIS - Mark Philippoussis shocked top seed Gustavo Kuerten in the tensest of battles to set up a final with US Open champion Marat Safin at the $A5.7 million Paris Masters Series tournament.
The Australian 13th seed won 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (13-11) and showed great patience and nerve to come back from 3-6 down in the second set tiebreak, saving five set points.
Philippoussis, 24, squandered three match points before Kuerten fired into the tramlines at the end of a match which had a sole break point throughout.
The win has set up a showdown with second-seeded Safin, who led Kuerten by just 20 points at the top of the ATP Champions Race before thrashing 12th-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2 6-2 in just 56min.
Philippoussis, defeated in last year's Paris final on his first appearance by Andre Agassi, was delighted to have pulled his match out of the fire against Kuerten after walking a tightrope in the second set tiebreaker.
"I knew it was going to be an extra tough match. Anything could've happened in the second set tiebreak. I just managed to get the points at the end.
"It feels great when you win a match like that. I felt I had so much confidence."
In his first match against Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia the Aussie lost the first set 6-1 for the worst of starts before coming through two tiebreaks.
"I was thinking about going home to Miami," joked the Florida-based star.
Philippoussis now hopes to claim his second Masters success after Indian Wells last year as well as his ninth career title overall.
Safin, who has won a Tour-leading six titles this year, was even more delighted with his win - and not just the speed with which he achieved it despite some below-par serving as he broke the Ferrero serve five times.
He now adds another 25 points to his ranking account and can go to the Lisbon Masters Cup starting November 28 with a healthier advantage than when he arrived here.
The 20-year-old Russian said he is currently playing his best tennis since he won the U.S. Open.
"It will be unbelievable if I finish the year at number one, but everyone knows that is what we are fighting for," Safin said.
"It's all about confidence, and when you have confidence you can you can play great tennis."
French Open champion Kuerten had been aiming to land his fifth title of the year - but was deprived of a first indoors title after his volleying let him down, while Philippoussis never gave him in inch.
Until this his third visit here Kuerten had not managed to win a single indoor match in Paris - but with the crowd solidly behind him this week he had found a rich vein of form. That form slipped below the mark Saturday.
"Sometimes you try to do the right thing - and do it wrong. It's part of the game," Kuerten said wryly afterwards.
"It was close - but I missed opportunities. But it was a good week for me - I had chances to be in the final."
On the consequences of his defeat for the Champions Race he said simply: "I think everything's going to be decided in Lisbon.
"There are a lot of points (at stake) there. As long as I have a chance I'll keep trying," said the Brazilian, who had soundly beaten Philippoussis in their only previous encounter in Rome in May.
Kuerten loses to Philippoussis at Paris Masters
sportsline.com
By JOCELYN GECKER
PARIS (November 18, 2000 4:47 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Top-seeded Gustavo Kuerten hit a roadblock in his bid to finish the year at No. 1, losing to Mark Philippoussis Saturday in the semifinals of the $2.95 million Paris Masters.
Kuerten fell 7-6 (5), 7-6 (11).
Philippoussis, the 13th-seeded Aussie, won a riveting match against the Brazilian and will face Marat Safin for the title Sunday. The second-seeded Russian defeated 12th-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal.
In a match in which both players held every serve, Philippoussis saved four set points in the final tiebreaker.
"It was one of those unbelievable tiebreakers where anything could have happened," he said. "At the end we were both extremely tired. I just managed to get through."
Kuerten, a two-time French Open champion, said he simply failed to execute.
"Sometimes you try to do the right thing, but you get it wrong," he said. "It's part of the game."
After leading the ATP Champions Race for 16 weeks, Kuerten was overtaken last week by Safin. Heading to this month's Masters Cup in Portugal, Safin leads Kuerten by 45 points. Even if he loses the Paris final, Safin will enter the Masters Cup at No. 1.
"As long as I have a chance, I'm going to keep on trying," Kuerten said. "I think everything will be decided in Lisbon."
Kuerten beat Philippoussis in straight sets in Rome in their only other match this year. But this time Kuerten appeared off his game, repeatedly pausing for deep breaths and whacking balls into the net after lost points.
"It's been a long tournament, a lot of tough matches," Kuerten said. "Everybody gets tired by this type of competition, with the high level we're playing here."
He had 12 aces to the big-serving Australian's 11, but Kuerten lost several crucial points with returns into the net.
Philippoussis was down 6-2 in the final tiebreaker but came back to take the match.
"The important thing for me is that I fought really well, until the end," the Aussie said. "I told myself, 'Hold onto your two points, anything can happen' - which it did."
Safin said his play on Saturday was his best since he won the U.S. Open. On one of his overhead slams, he paid homage to Pete Sampras.
"I've learned from him, from so many times on TV," Safin said.
Safin had eight aces and won five of seven break points. Ferrero committed four double faults.
"Juan Carlos didn't play his best tennis," Safin said. "He was too tired. I saw it."
Safin says Philippoussis is in good shape and playing "unbelievable tennis."
"I will try to push him and put him under pressure," Safin said. "It's going to be the key of the match, to push him from the beginning."
The eight-man Masters Cup in Lisbon on Nov. 27-Dec. 3 features the four Grand Slam champions - Safin, Kuerten, Sampras, Andre Agassi - plus Magnus Norman, Lleyton Hewitt, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Alex Corretja.
Agassi withdrew from the Paris Masters with an injured hip. Sampras skipped the tournament.
The Paris tournament is the last of the nine-event Tennis Masters Series, the most important events after the Grand Slams.
Scud stuns Kuerten
From our wire services
19nov00
PARIS: Mark Philippoussis shocked top seed Gustavo Kuerten 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (13-11) in a 1hr 52min battle to reach the final of the $2.95 million Paris Masters Series here overnight.
Philippoussis, 24, advanced on his fourth match point when the Brazilian fired into the tramlines.
The 13th seed now faces either second-seeded Marat Safin of Russia, who leads Kuerten by just 20 points in the ATP Champions Race, or 12th-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in tonight's final.
French Open champion Kuerten had been aiming to land his fifth title of the year as well as end the season on top of the Champions Race. But the Brazilian was deprived of a first indoors title after his volleying let him down too often and Philippoussis never gave him in inch.
Until this his third visit here Kuerten had not managed to win a single indoor match in Paris – but with the crowd solidly behind him this week he had found a rich vein of form. But that form however deserted him overnight.
Philippoussis, who becomes the first Australian finalist at the event and showing good recent form under new coach Peter McNamara, now hopes to claim his second Masters success after Indian Wells last year as well as his ninth career title overall.
Both men had litle difficulty holding serve in the 50-minute opening set, hammering down seven aces each and prompting the inevitable tiebreak.
Philippoussis managed a mini-break for 2-0 when Kuerten fired into the tramlines and the Brazilian then hit long to gift the Aussie a 5-1 lead.
Philippoussis finally clinched the set on his third set point with a cross court volley.
The second set was just as tight and after handing Philippoussis a break point at 5-5 Kuerten got out of jail with his 11th ace. Once again a tiebreak had to separate the two and Kuerten appeared to have it won as he raced to a 6-3 lead.
But Philippoussis showed huge determination to claw his way back and scored two mini breaks to save a first match point.
The match-point, set-point pendulum swung back and forth constantly, "Guga" saving a third match point with a smash 10-10 before his miscued forehand put Philippoussis through.
Philippoussis defeats Kuerten
PARIS, Nov 18 (Reuters)(DS) - Mark Philippoussis kept his nerve
in a tense second set tiebreaker to beat Gustavo Kuerten 7-6
(7-5) 7-6 (13-11) on Saturday and advance to the final of the
$2.95 million Paris Tennis Masters Series tournament.
The 13th-seeded Australian saved five set points in the
tiebreaker before finally sealing victory on his fourth match
point of a spine-tingling match in wich neither player was able
to break serve.
Philippossis, winner of the Sybase Open in San Jose earlier
this year, has blossomed over the last six weeks since linking
with coach Peter McNamara.
The powerful 23-year-old has added poise to his power and
was prepared to wait for his chances against the second-seeded
Brazilian.
Philippoussis made the final of the Hong Kong tournament
last month and is aiming to go one better here as he seeks his
second Masters Series title and the ninth tournament win of his
career.
His only previous Master Series title was at Indian Wells
last year.
The loss was a blow to Kuerten, who is locked in a battle
with Marat Safin of Russia at the head of the ATP Champions Race
and had been seeking his first indoor title.
The second semifinal between second-seeded Safin and
12th-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero is scheduled for later
on Saturday.
Philippoussis closes out Kuerten
© Gianni Ciaccia 11/18/00
First Australian finalist in Paris
At the Tennis Masters Series - Paris on Saturday, No. 13 Marc Philippoussis ousted No. 1 seed Gustavo Kuerten in a closely contested shootout 7-6(5), 7-6(11) to advance to Sunday's final. Highlighting his win, Philippoussis captured the landmark achievement of being the first Australian to reach the final in Paris.
Kuerten kept within striking distance of Philippoussis early-on, forcing a first set tie-break. Rising to the occasion, 'the Scud' shelled Kuerten for an early 5-1 lead. However, capitalizing on the Australian's inconsistency, the Brazilian was able to close the gap to 4-6, before Philippoussis recovered to close out the first set with the edge.
Philippoussis awaits an opponent
In the second set, both players traded domination on the serve, with neither ceding a single point to the other in the third, seventh and eighth games. Taking the match to a second tie-break, Kuerten couldn't hold an initial 6-3 edge on Philippoussis, and the Australian made the Brazilian pay, finally prevailing in the marathon affair.
As a sidelight to his win, Philippoussis heightened the suspense of the Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon, ensuring that at least one-half of the much anticipated pre-Lisboan showdown in Paris between Kuerten and No. 2 seed Marat Safin will not be battling for the title.
In search of his second title of the year after the Sybase Open in San Jose, Philippoussis now awaits the winner of Safin's semifinal match against No. 12 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.
In doubles, the No. 5 seeds Nicklas Kulti of Sweden and Max Mirnyi of Belarus eliminated the No. 2 seeded American team of Alex O'Brien and Jared Palmer in three sets 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 to advance to Sunday's final, where they will face the No. 6 seed tandem of Canada's Daniel Nestor and Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands.