Del Potro and Zemlja reach final at Vienna
Juan Martin del Potro will facer Grega Zemlja at the Erste Bank Open final.
Del Potro beat Gilles Muller 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) while Zemlja upset Janko Tipsarevic 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Del Potro is playing his first tournament since returning from a wrist injury that sidelined him for more than a month.
"Being in the final means a lot to me after a month without playing," he said. "I am getting better match by match. I am improving on my game, on my confidence. I am happy to play my second final in a row here."
The Argentine said he was especially satisfied with his serve. He won all 38 service games in this event.
There were no breaks of serve during the match but Del Potro converted his fourth match point with an ace.
It's his return that he needs to improve, Del Potro said.
"Once again, I did not take my break point chances in this match so I will work on that," he said. "I miss a lot of break points. Against this kind of player, one break point is like match point or set point."
Zemlja lost the opening set and was down 3-1 in the second but broke back and got the match under control.
"Only in the third set I started thinking about winning," Zemlja said. "I got the feeling the match was in my hands but it was hard work and I had to stay focused until the last point."
"I was too passive, I was waiting for Zemlja to give me the victory instead of going for it," the Serb said. "I didn't stay focused until the end of the points."
"This is an incredible dream," said Zemlja. "I am full of confidence now. I have no tactics yet to play Del Potro. I will have to talk to my coach first."
“It was an interesting and difficult situation for me before the tournament. I was preparing last week for this tournament and I found out I was the first on the waiting list to get into the main draw in Stockholm,” revealed Zemlja. “So I was deciding whether to go to Stockholm or play in the qualification here. I said I’d rather play here and that I have a good feeling. I think it was a pretty good decision. I don’t regret it.”
In the third set, Tipsarevic got medical treatment for an injury to his right shoulder, which has caused him problems in the past.
"It was bothering me for almost two years but in the last year and a half I didn't feel it all," Tipsarevic said. "I hope it's not too serious."
Source Yahoo Sports
AP Photo/Ronald Zak
Posts
