Published on October 16, 2005

Paradorn set for his second win in Sweden

Playing his best tennis in long time, in-form Thai No 1 Paradorn Srichaphan finally put a stop to his losing streak by defeating long-time rival Davide Sanguinetti to reach the Stockholm Open final for the second time yesterday.

After two hours of long baseline rallies, Paradorn proved mentally tougher and physically stronger to win the match 4-6 7-5 6-3 to make it to the final of the ?680,250 (Bt33.5 million) tournament, which he won three years ago.

For the first time in five meetings, Paradorn posted a victory over his 33-year-old opponent, who eliminated him in the second round of the US Open in an epic five-setter.

In the final Paradorn faces American James Blake, who eased past Oliver Rochus of Belgium 6-4 6-3 in their semi-final. The match can be seen live on UBC 36 at 8pm.

The Thai, known to his home fans as “Ball”, has won once and lost three times to Blake, but the last time they met in 2003, the Thai won in straight sets in Long Island.

Against Sanguinetti, Paradorn was the more aggressive of the two, but at the same time was the more erratic. Sanguinetti, ranked 44th, stuck to his game plan, keeping the ball in play and waiting for the impatient Thai to miss.

He broke Paradorn in the second game and that one break led him to a 5-4 lead. The Italian capitalised on his first set point at 40-15, taking the 34-minute opener when the Thai produced a backhand error.

Unforced errors cost Paradorn the third game of the second set, and although he had a couple

of chances to break back, his

weak backhand let him down.

The Thai faced break points in the fifth and seventh games, but fought hard to hold and was down 4-5. With his back against the wall, Paradorn became more prudent but went for his shots when the opportunities were there and he broke back to 5-5.

An inspired Paradorn then went on to win the second set in 56 minutes by breaking the Italian in the 12th game as the latter’s backhand approach shot found the net.

The third set was a different story for Paradorn, who kept his cool and stayed patient. Errors kept coming from the Italian side, allowing the Thai to break for a 4-2 lead after a wide forehand from Sanguinetti, who appeared to lose steam.

Up 5-3, Paradorn did not squander his chances. He was very careful with his shots and wrapped up the contest when a backhand from Sanguinetti landed wide.

“For the whole week I’ve been playing really well,” said Paradorn, who once stood ninth in the world. “Hopefully I can keep going. It’s really nice to be back here, I have some great memories and I have nothing to lose.”

Meanwhile, the sixth-seeded Blake used a powerful serve to beat Olivier Rochus 6-4 6-3 yesterday in his semi-final.

The American aced Rochus 17 times, including twice late in the second set when he faced double break point.

“I served really well which is kind of the only way to get free points against him,” Blake said.

“I’ve never played well in Europe before and it feels like I’m home again. I love it here. It’s been great so far.

“Early in my career I was so much more comfortable in the States with all the fans on my side. It seems like I’ve had some pretty friendly fans here, which is a good feeling.”

After winning the first set, Blake broke for a 3-2 lead in the second when Rochus’ forehand sailed wide after a long rally.

Leading 5-3, Blake fell behind 30-40 on serve. He saved the first break point with a big serve. Later in the game, he saved another break point with an ace. He aced the Belgian again – his 17th in the match – and eventually held to lead 5-3.

Blake then broke Rochus again to wrap up the match.

“He’s such a good player and made me work hard,” Blake said. “He beat me on clay because he plays such good defence two weeks ago and didn’t miss anything. He did the same today, but my shots went in when I needed them on this hard court.

“If he has a weakness it probably has to be his serve. Being down a break [in the first set] I tried not to panic. I got my chances and took advantage of them and then just kept rolling. I had to go for my shots and luckily they were going in.”

Blake is playing in his first tournament – one of the world’s oldest indoor events – since his run to the US Open quarter-finals, where he lost to Andre Agassi.

Ferrero flying

nIn Vienna, former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero put himself within reach of his first title in two years when he reached the final of the BA-CA Trophy yesterday with a straight sets win over Czech Radek Stepanek. Injuries may have taken away a fraction of the speed which earned the seventh-seeded Spaniard the nickname Mosquito, but his resilience in tight situations seemed to be greater than ever as he overcame third seed Stepanek 7-6 (7/3) 6-3.

Ferrero will face fourth seed Ivan Ljubicic, who beat fifth seed Tommy Robredo 7-6 (7/5) 6-4, in today’s final.

The Nation, Agencies

Stockholm

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