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2/6/10 5:12 PM | Ricky Dimon
Feliciano Lopez outlasts Gael Monfils in a third-set tiebreaker on Saturday afternoon in Johannesburg. Lopez will take on Stephane Robert for the SA Open title.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds cruised through the early rounds of this week's SA Tennis Open, but it all came to crashing halt on Saturday.
Hours after Stephane Robert upset second-seeded David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez took out No. 1 seed Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(1) in the Johannesburg semifinals. Lopez needed one hour and 32 minutes to set up a second consecutive meeting with a Frenchman, this time against the eighth-seeded Robert.
For a while, however, it looked like Monfils would be able to fend off the upset bug. Serves dominated the early stages of the match; Monfils won eight of his first nine first-serve points with aces, while Lopez did not lose a single point in his first three service games. At 3-4, however, the No. 3 seed suddenly got broken, double-faulting on the first break point of the match. Lopez tested Monfils in the following game, but the favorite managed to hold to close out the set.
The 39th-ranked Spaniard was quick to seize the momentum in set two as Monfils' serve collapsed. Lopez broke for 2-0 en route to a commanding 3-0 lead, the he broke again for 5-1. Another routine hold for Lopez, who dropped only six service points during the second frame of play, forced a final set.
Both men held comfortably until Monfils faced the first break point of the third at 5-5, 30-40. He saved it then held two points later with his 19th ace of the match. Lopez responded with a love service game, taking the semifinal into a decisive tiebreaker.
It turned out to be a 'breaker that was never in doubt. Lopez earned an immediate mini-break with an overhead smash, took care of his two service points for 3-0, and was off to the races. A Monfils double-fault gave the underdog an overwhelming 4-0 advantage and Lopez surrendered only one point the rest of the way. Down 6-1, Monfils netted a routine volley to end the match.
In impressive displays of serving, Lopez struck 11 aces against two double-faults while Monfils blasted 19 aces and double-faulted four times. Lopez won 82 percent of his first-serve points and a stellar 74 percent of his second-serve points on the way to his sixth career ATP final.
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Hopefully Lopez will win the final and not let a player like Stephane Robert win the title
tennis2010 , 2/6/10 6:06 PM