Raonic ousts Murray in Japan Open semifinal
Raonic ousts Murray in Japan Open semifinal
TOKYO — Milos Raonic ousted top-seeded Andy Murray 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4) Saturday to move into the final of the Japan Open.
Raonic will meet Kei Nishikori on Sunday after he routed unseeded Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour.
The 17th-ranked Nishikori defeated Baghdatis for the first time after losing three previous matches.
Nishikori and Raonic will play for the first time in the final, with the Japanese player seeking his first title of the season.
Djokovic to face Tsonga
in China Open final
BEIJING — Top-seeded Novak Djokovic will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of the China Open.
Djokovic beat unseeded Florian Mayer of Germany 6-1, 6-4 Saturday, while Tsonga led 6-1, 4-1 when Feliciano Lopez retired with a left wrist injury.
In the women’s event, top-ranked Victoria Azarenka beat ninth-seeded Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-2 to set up a final against Maria Sharapova. She cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 victory over seventh-seeded Li Na of China in the other semifinal.
Djokovic steamrolled past the 29th-ranked Mayer in the first set before securing the necessary break in the seventh game of a much closer second set.
He double-faulted on his first match point but won when Mayer hit a forehand wide two points later.
Djokovic has so far played eight finals this season, winning three of them, including a successful defense of his Australian Open title.
He leads Tsonga 7-5 in head-to-heads.
Azarenka, who won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, was tested in the first set by Bartoli, but ran ahead to a 5-1 lead in the second set.
By wire sources