Philippoussis edged by Safin in Paris final
By CHRIS WRIGHT
PARIS (November 19, 2000 1:19 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Russian second-seed and ATP Champions Race leader Marat Safin won a cliffhanger final at the $2.95 million Paris Masters Series at the Bercy stadium on Sunday, downing Australian 13th-seed Mark Philippoussis in five sets.
Safin won 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8).
The triumph gave the 20-year-old Russian a Tour-leading seventh title of the year and means he is almost certain to end the year as world number one.
Safin's success, achieved on his sixth match point after a heartstopping finale, came despite a bad fall in the third set, when he cut himself above his right eyebrow going for a low volley.
His triumph also made him the only player to claim more than one Masters Series title in 2000. Earlier, he won in Toronto.
And it meant he also went one better than last year, when he lost in his Paris indoor debut in the final to Andre Agassi.
Safin's success takes him close to $3 million in earnings for the year after a 7-2 record in title matches.
"It's bad luck on Mark - he played really well. It was a great game. I had more luck than him," said Safin after his win, achieved in three hours, 29 minutes.
"There were just a few shots between us."
Philippoussis was gracious in victory.
"Marat deserved it. He played so well all year - that's why he's number one in the world."
The Aussie had shocked top seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (13-11) in a fascinating semifinal tussle on Saturday, whereas Safin had ousted a tired-looking Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain.
U.S. Open champion Safin, who leads Kuerten by 75 points in the ATP Champions Race, is set to be confirmed as the youngest-ever world number one in the entry system when the new tallies are published on Monday and the youngest ever since the rankings were introduced in 1973.
Against Philippoussis, he took his career record to 2-1 after the pair split two matches last year.
Philippoussis, whose first Tour title came in France at Toulouse in 1996, got off to a flying start as he served up three aces in the opening game and then broke for 2-0, eventually taking the set in 32 minutes.
But the second set was every bit as tight as the Aussie's enthralling encounter with Kuerten.
New balls in the eighth game meant three more Philippoussis aces to 4-4 before the Aussie squandered a triple-match point in the following game, as Safin survived by throwing up a fine lob - though the big Russian picked up a verbal warning for angrily thrashing a ball into the rafters at 0-40.
Even a fifth double fault couldn't stop Philippoussis leveling for 6-6.
But he was taking a few too many risks on serve, and a sixth double fault gave Safin a mini-break for 2-1, while another ace from the youngster and a Philippoussis drive which just landed long took Safin out to a 5-1 lead.
Safin finally accepted a third set point on serve when his opponent netted.
In the third, games went with serve until the seventh game. But Safin had a scare as he fell diving for a backhand volley to 30-30 on the Philippoussis serve and his racket frame ricocheted off the ground to hit him in the face, giving him a two-centimeter cut above the right eyebrow.
Safin required several minutes of treatment from doctor Bernard Montalvan and a plaster over the bloody wound - he then promptly got up to manage a crucial break with a deft volley, which proved enough for a two sets to one lead.
In the fourth set, Philippoussis managed a run of ten straight points, including a break to love, to move out to 5-2 and he served out to love.
The decider saw both men racing through their service games, and even several "Mexican waves" from the crowd couldn't inspire a break as four straight games went to love.
In a dramatic 15-minute tiebreak, Safin swiftly moved to 6-3 but Philippoussis reined him in as the Russian hit long.
But Philippoussis cracked when, on serve at 8-9 down, he fired well wide as Safin took the title on his sixth match point.
Safin wins epic
sports.news.com
From our wire services
20nov00
PARIS: Russian Marat Safin overcame a gashed right eyebrow to defeat Mark Philippoussis 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-8) in an epic final of the $2.95 million Paris Masters Series here overnight.
The win gave the 20-year-old a Tour-leading seventh title of the year and means he is almost certain to end 2000 as world No.1.
Safin's success, achieved on his sixth match point after a heartstopping finale came despite a bad fall in the third set, when he cut himself above his right eyebrow going for a low volley.
His triumph also made him the only player to claim more than one Masters Series title in 2000 having earlier won in Toronto, Canada
"It's bad luck on Mark – he played really well. It was great game. I had more luck than him," said Safin after his win, achieved in 3hr 29mins.
"There were just a few shots between us."
Philippoussis responded: "Marat deserved it. He played so well all year – that's why he's No.1 in the world."
The Australian played brilliantly to take the first set in just 32 minutes.
He served eight aces and his deep forehands immediately unsettled Safin, who hadn't dropped a set in reaching the final.
Philippoussis' ground strokes were so accurate and hard-hit, and his touch at the net so deft, that Safin was regularly forced onto the backfoot.
One break of serve, in the second game, was enough to give Philippoussis the opener.
Safin was warned for hitting a ball into the crowd in the ninth game of the second set, which went on serve until the tiebreaker, which the Russian finally won 9-7 on his fourth set point.
It was the first tiebreaker Philippoussis had lost of the six he had played in the tournament.
At 3-3 in the third, Safin cut himself after his racket head flew up and hit him.
The Russian fell to the ground and remained motionless for a few seconds.
He resumed looking groggy after treatment and went on to take the set.
But Philippoussis hit back to take the fourth as the Russian wilted and became increasingly frustrated, several times throwing his racket to the ground in disgust.
The final set went with serve until the very end when Safin squeezed home.
SAFIN OVERCOMES SCUD
Crosscourt.com
And at the Tennis Masters Series - Paris, Marat Safin and Mark Philippoussis have played a tremendous final that went down to the wire in almost three and a half hours of gripping action. In the end it was the Russian, this year's US Open champion and the leader on the ATP Champions Race, who held up his second Tennis Masters Series trophy, beating Philippoussis 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.Safin needed medical attention midway through the third set when he was hit in the eye by his racquet and sustained a bloody cut. It did not unsettle him as the brilliance of this match kept on developing. With the atmosphere at the Palais Omnisport in the area of Bercy, reaching fever pitch, the fifth remained as tight as it could possibly be. Neither player surrendered a point on a first serve through the set till the tiebreaker. What an incredibly high standard of tennis it was and it made for one of the best Tennis Masters Series finals of 2000.Then, eventually on match point six, Safin clinched victory, the breaker was 8-6."It definitely was a terrific one to win," said Philippoussis. "I knew it was going to be tough, anything could have happened in the second set tiebreak (which Safin won 9-7). It was an honour to be part of a match like that. I got so much confidence out of a match like that."And in the USA Davis Cup captaincy issue with the stronger rumours of John McEnroe's resignation, it is understood a short list of candidates has been formulated - Stan Smith, Paul Annacone, Patrick McEnroe, Jim Courier and Todd Martin as player/captain.
Bloodied Safin edges Philippoussis
Russian Marat Safin has overcome a gashed right eyebrow and some fierce resistance from Australian Mark Philippoussis to win the $5.7 million Paris Masters series tennis final 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.
It was the 20-year-old number two seed's second title in eight days, after also taking out the St Petersburg title last weekend.
Safin cut himself above the right eye when he hit himself with his racket attempting a diving volley midway through the third set.
He resumed after being treated by a doctor at courtside and promptly broke 13th-seeded Philippoussis' serve to take the set.
He needed ice on the injury during changes of end to keep down the swelling but finally won in 208 minutes on his sixth match point.
The Russian edged ahead 6-3 in the decisive tiebreaker but wasted five match points before a Philippoussis forehand error finally gave him the win.
"I was very lucky in the tiebreaker," Safin said. "Maybe one or two points made the difference."
The victory boosted Safin's ambitions of finishing the year as the world's top-ranked player, increasing his lead over Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten in the ATP Champions Race to 73 points.
Safin, the US Open champion, won his seventh title of the year and became the only man this year to win two Masters Series events. He was also victorious in Toronto.
"Marat's played well all year and this is why he is number one in the world at the moment," Philippoussis said.
The Australian played sublime tennis in winning the first set in just 32 minutes.
He slammed down eight aces and his deep forehands immediately unsettled Safin, who had not dropped a set in reaching the final.
Philippoussis' ground strokes were so accurate and hard-hit, and his touch at the net so deft, that Safin was regularly forced onto the backfoot.
One break of serve, in the second game, was enough to give Philippoussis the opener.
Safin was warned for hitting a ball into the crowd in the ninth game of the second set, which went on serve until the tiebreaker, which the Russian finally won 9-7 on his fourth set point. It was the first tiebreaker Philippoussis had lost of the six he had played in the tournament.
At 3-3 in the third, Safin cut himself after his racket head flew up and hit him.
The Russian fell to the ground and remained motionless for a few seconds. He resumed looking groggy after treatment and went on to take the set.
But Philippoussis roared back to take the fourth as the Russian wilted and became increasingly frustrated, several times throwing his racket to the ground in disgust.
The final set went with serve until the very end when Safin prevailed.
SAFIN DOWNS PHILIPPOUSSIS IN PARIS MASTERS FINAL
In a riveting on-court drama, punctuated by endless 200-kilometre-per-hour aces and a bloody head injury that briefly felled the world's No. 1 tennis player, Russia's Marat Safin beat Mark Philippoussis to win the final of the $US2.95 million Paris Masters tournament Sunday.
On target to his goal of becoming the year's No. 1 player, Safin beat the No. 13 seeded Philippoussis of Australia in the final tiebreaker of the five-set final, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).
"He was playing so well today, I was just lucky," an exhausted Safin said after the 3-hour and 28-minute match.
Philippoussis returned the compliment.
"He's played very well all season and that's why he's number one," the 24-year-old Australian said.
Clinching his second title in eight days, Safin moved to the top of the ATP Champions Race when he won the St. Petersburg title last Sunday.
The U.S. Open winner now heads into this month's Masters Cup in Portugal leading second-place Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil by 145 points.
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.
Safin beats Philippoussis for seventh title of year
SportsLine.com wire reportsPARIS -- Russian Marat Safin overcame a gashed right eyebrow and some fierce resistance from 13th-seeded Australian Mark Philippoussis to win Sunday's $2.95 million Paris Masters series final 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8). It was the number two seed's second title in eight days. He also won the St Petersburg title last weekend. Safin, 20, cut himself above the right eye when he hit himself with his own racket attempting a diving volley midway through the third set. He resumed after being treated by a doctor at courtside -- and promptly broke Philippoussis' serve to take the set. He needed ice on the injury during changes of end to keep down the swelling but finally won in three hours, 28 minutes on his sixth match point despite being battered and bloodied. Safin served 22 aces and Philippoussis 21. The Russian edged ahead 6-3 in the decisive tiebreaker but he wasted five match points before a Philippoussis forehand error finally gave him the win. "I was very lucky in the tiebreaker," Safin said. "Maybe one or two points made the difference." The victory boosted Safin's ambitions of finishing the year as the world's top-ranked player, increasing his lead over Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten in the ATP Champions Race to 73 points. Safin, the U.S. Open champion, won his seventh title of the year and became the only man this year to win two Masters Series events. He was also victorious in Toronto. Safin won $434,000, and Philippoussis earned $228,000. The Russian was beaten by Andre Agassi in last year's final of this event and won it in only his second appearance at the Bercy Sports Arena. "Marat's played well all year and this is why he is number one in the world at the moment," Philippoussis said. The Australian played sublime tennis in winning the first set in just 32 minutes. He had eight aces and his deep, grooved forehands immediately unsettled Safin, who hadn't dropped a set in reaching the final. Philippoussis' ground strokes were so accurate and hard-hit, and his touch at the net so deft, that Safin was regularly forced onto the backfoot. One break of serve, in the second game, was enough to give Philippoussis the opener. Safin was warned for hitting a ball into the crowd in the ninth game of the second set, which went on serve until the tiebreaker, which the Russian finally won 9-7 on his fourth set point. It was the first tiebreaker Philippoussis had lost of the six he had played in the tournament. At 3-3 in the third, Safin cut himself after his racket head flew up and hit him. The Russian fell to the ground and remained motionless for a few seconds. He resumed looking groggy after treatment, promptly breaking Philippoussis' serve for the first time in the match. Safin took the set but Philippoussis roared back to take the fourth as the Russian wilted and became increasingly frustrated, several times throwing his racket to the ground in disgust. The final set went with serve until the very end when Safin prevailed. Safin survived an eyebrow injury and a five set "New Balls Please" campaign shootout to take his second Tennis Masters Series title of 2000, after Toronto. However, the first set was all Philippoussis. The Australian set an early tone of the match, racing to an early 3-0 lead after breaking Safin in the second game. Dominating at 5-2, Philippoussis closed out the first set, ceding not a single point to the Russian in the final game.
Safin's seventh title of year 2000
Despite a three-ace shelling in the eighth game of the second set, Safin slowed Philippoussis' charge, and forced a tie-break. The Australian survived four match points after Safin went up 4-1, but the Russian regained his composure, and leveled the match.But Safin almost didn't make it past the third set. Diving for a volley, the Russian cut his eyebrow. Shrugging off the injury after a medical time-out, Safin finally broke Philippoussis for a 4-3 advantage. Safin held serve to stretch his lead, and then clinched the set on the strength of two aces in the final game. In the fourth set, Philippoussis capitalized on Safin's first Double Fault of the match to break the Russian for the 4-2
edge. Firing yet another of his match total of 22 aces, the Australian held serve to increase his lead, and then held serve again to even the score.Both Safin and Philippoussis dominated on serve to force a fifth set tie-break. Down 6-3, Philippoussis endured three match points, but in the end, matching 'the Scud' ace for ace, Safin proved too much for the Australian. With his victory in Paris, Safin captured his second straight title in two Sundays, after his victory last week in St. Petersburg. Stretching his lead over Gustavo Kuerten, Safin now heads to the Tennis Masters Cup as the undisputed leader of the Champions Race.In doubles, the No. 5 seeds Nicklas Kulti of Sweden and Max Mirnyi of Belarus ousted the No. 6 seed tandem of Canada's Daniel Nestor and Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 for the title. © Gianni
Scud unbowed after near miss in Paris
Sportstoday
PARIS, Nov 19 AFP - After turning his back on his country, Mark Philippoussis is set to profit from Lleyton Hewitt's patriotic sacrifice and take his place in next week's Masters Cup in Lisbon.
Despite losing today's final of the Masters Series here in five thrilling sets to Russian world No.1 Marat Safin 3-6 7-6 6-4 3-6 7-6, Philippoussis is back on the brink of a place in the world top 10.
And, after his run to the final here, he could squeeze into the season-ending Masters Cup as a second reserve with Hewitt an uncertain starter while he battles a virus.
Hewitt pulled out of the Paris event to save himself for Australia's Davis Cup final against Spain next month, an event for which Philippoussis declared himself unavailable.
To ensure he is as fit as possible, Hewitt could yet pull out of the rich Lisbon tournament.
But if Hewitt plays in Lisbon, Philippoussis may still get a run with Andre Agassi thinking about withdrawing after missing Paris with a hip injury.
Agassi, although automatically qualified for the Masters Cup by winning the Australian Open, is also on record as saying that he might well give Lisbon a wide berth if he dropped below eighth in the Champions Race.
Philippoussis could boost his chances of a spot in Lisbon even further if he wins in Stockholm this week, having taken a wildcard for that event.
``You know I'm going there to win the tournament or else I wouldn't be accepting the wildcard,'' said the Miami-based Melburnian.
He said his form in Paris had given him a lift despite Sunday's gut-wrenching defeat.
``I got to come away feeling positive about it. (I'll) just relax the next couple of days and get ready for Stockholm.
``It's been a long, tough week for me. To come all that way and get to six-all in the fifth - but that's tennis. That's how things go.''
Philippoussis, who credits new coach Peter McNamara with bringing him back to the boil, said he couldn't really fault his showing against Safin - save for a brief loss of concentration in the third set after the Russian whacked himself in the face with his racket to require treatment.
``It was very frustrating because I played just two loose points,'' he said.
On losing the second set tiebreak, Philippoussis said: ``I had three break points at five-all, 0-40, but I did nothing wrong. He hit two unbelievable volleys, then hit a lob. I did nothing wrong on those points.
``I've just got to come away positive with this week and learn from that match.''
As Philippoussis edges closer to his goal of a top five place, McNamara has said Davis Cup is likely to become a minor priority for the 24-year-old who ``will be looking after his own interests''.
``This is a professional game. This is not just about being proud about playing for Australia,'' the former Davis Cup stalwart said on ABC radio.
McNamara said Philippoussis would think about playing Davis Cup if asked but the problem lay with team captain John Newcombe, who had said he didn't want him.
Newcombe will quit after the final in Barcelona to be replaced by John Fitzgerald.
Safin secured his place at the top of the Champions Race with his second title in eight days.
The second seed needed treatment from a doctor after hitting himself with his racket attempting a diving volley midway through the third set.
Immediately after resuming, he broke 13th-seeded Philippoussis' serve to take the set.
He needed ice on the injury during changes of end to keep down the swelling but finally won in three hours 28 minutes on his sixth match point.
The Russian edged ahead 6-3 in the decisive tiebreaker but wasted five match points before a Philippoussis forehand error finally gave him the win.
AFP
Safin a cut above Scud