KREMLIN CUP
MOSCOW, RUSSIA October 4, 2003
Dent, Sargsian Set to Battle for Moscow Title
A pair of unseeded finalists have emerged this week in Moscow, one
surprising, who is playing in his first ATP final in six years, and
another not-so-surprising, who has won 14 consecutive indoor matches
dating back to his run at the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis, USA.
Coming off his win at the inaugural Thailand Open, Taylor Dent reached
his second consecutive ATP final with a close three-set victory over
defending champion Paul-Henri Mathieu of France. Dent, who has not lost
an indoor match since early February, took the first set by breaking
Mathieu at 4-3 before Mathieu called the trainer early in the second
with right arm pain. Mathieu battled back to force a third and the two
exchanged early breaks in the third before the deciding tiebreaker was
taken by Dent, 7-1. Dent is the first American to play in the Kremlin
Cup final since Chuck Adams in 1994.
In Sunday's final, with $142,000 and 50 ATP Champions Race points at
stake, Dent will face Armenian Sargis Sargsian for the first time in
his career as he goes for his third ATP title this year following titles
indoors in Memphis and Bangkok.
Sargsian, meanwhile, had little trouble dispatching comeback king Vincent
Spadea. Three times this week Spadea faced a one-set deficit only to come
back and win in three sets. But Sargsian's aggressive, hard-hitting tennis
was too much for the American on Saturday as Sargsian cruised 6-2, 6-2,
into his first ATP final in more than six years. Sargsian's last title
came at the Miller Lite Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on grass in
1997 and he will have a coterie of Armenian fans in the crowd Sunday
with a large Armenian contingent living in Moscow and flying in from
Sargsian's home country to the south.
RUSSIA CELEBRATES PAST CHAMPIONS
Russian tennis greats from past and present lined up on Center Court
Saturday night at the Kremlin Cup for a special celebration of Russia's
year as Davis Cup champions. Former President Boris Yeltsin addressed the
crowd and the players received miniature trophies similar to the Davis Cup
"Salad Bowl".
In just two months time, the trophy will be passed to either Australia or
Spain, as Russia was eliminated in the second round in April by Argentina.
The lineup on-court included Andrei Olhovskiy, Andrei Cherkasov, Sergei
Likhachev, Vladimir Korotkov, Alex Metreveli, Teimuraz Kakulia, Sergei
Leonyuk and ATP stars Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Marat Safin. Also present were
Davis Cup captains Vadim Borisov, Anatoly Lepeshin and Shamil Tarpishev.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Sargis Sargsian: "I came here in good shape and playing well. I was just
hoping to keep the momentum going today from my wins this week and it was
working for me today."
"I feel great, it's been a long long while since I've been in a final. To
win a tournament like this, especially in Russia, would mean alot. There
are a lot of people here supporting me, people who have flown in. So it
would be special."
About possible opponent: "I know both players well. Taylor is obviously
playing well, coming off the win last week, and Mathieu is the defending
champion so that speaks for itself."
Vince Spadea: "It wasn't my day and he is playing well coming off wins
against Kafelnikov and the No. 2 seed."
On coming back from a set down three times this week: "It's never over
and maybe I could have gotten back into it in the second se, but I wasn't
hitting the ball well at all. Now it's off to Vienna next for me."
Taylor Dent: "Tonight was a tough match. Any time you go 7-6 in the third
set you are pretty much just rolling the dice about the outcome. Luckily,
I pulled out the tiebreak tonight."
About reaching final: "You always go into a tournament hoping to win, but
it's always a nice surprise when you get to the final. So it's probably a
little unexpected.
About Sargsian: "I know Sargsian well, I've seen him play alot. He plays a
style similar to the guy I played tonight, so for me, I just need to focus
on my game and force him to play my style by serving and volleying, chipping
my returns and coming in.
About the crowd rooting for Mathieu: "It's always nice to have the crowd
behind you, but really it should not be a factor if you are focusing on
the match, but it is nice to have the crowd on your side."
Paul-Henri Mathieu: "I can take a lot of positives from this tournament.
I reached the semifinals, I lost to the player who is probably playing
best in the entire tournament and I showed some good tennis."
"I have played plenty of hard servers before like him but never someone
who serves-and-volleys like him. He really covers the net well and you
need to hit perfect passing shots."
About calling the trainer: "I was disappointed because I had pain in my
right arm and I should have taken some pain killers before the match and
not during the match. I could not serve at all in the first set and the
pain didn't go away until the second."
Expectations for next week in Lyon: "I am not thinking about anything in
particular for Lyon except to go out there and play it match by match.
--
"L'avenir du rock a un nom : Muse" (Les inrockuptibles)
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