Coria joins Nadal in Rome
ByReuters
Published 07/05/2005 at 16:23 GMT
Guillermo Coria joined Rafael Nadal in the Rome Masters final with a 7-5 7-6 win over Andre Agassi on in the second semi final on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Rafael Nadal quashed Ferrer's challenge in three sets 4-6 6-4 7-5 to reach the final and extend
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Coria's victory ended Agassi's hopes of reclaiming the title he won in 2002.
It was an erratic performance by the 35-year-old American, whose flashes of brilliance were undone by often wayward groundstrokes.
A break down after the seventh game, Agassi produced a pair of winning service returns to level at 5-5. In the next game, however, a series of long forehands gifted Coria the chance to serve out for the set.
The Argentine tightened his grip on the match when Agassi committed another series of unforced errors to drop serve in the opening game of the second set.
He levelled with a volley winner and a serve return that rocketed down the line to go a break up but another shaky service game sent the set into a tiebreak.
Agassi made four more unforced errors to lose it to love and gift Coria a place in the final.
Twelve months ago Coria was the most dangerous claycourt player in the world as he won titles in Buenos Aires and Monte Carlo on his way to the French Open final.
Now, however, the man to beat is 18-year-old Nadal. Rome will be his sixth final of the year and has won four titles on clay in 2005.
"It will be very different this time because in Monte Carlo I was playing for the first time in a final after a long time (out)," said Coria, who missed several months of competition late last year due to a shoulder injury.
"This time I think I can win and I'm happy to play against Nadal."
NADAL THROUGH IN STYLE
"I felt a little bit tired today, both mentally and physically, but I fought for every ball," said Nadal, who had also come from a set down to defeat Radek Stepanek in the quarter-finals.
"There was no difference between us. I was just pleased because I finished the match with my best play of the day."
Having already won four titles on clay this year, including the last month's Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal started in business-like fashion and lashed groundstrokes past his bewildered opponent to break in the opening game.
As the match continued, however, Ferrer began to time his shots better and forced the fifth seed into forehand errors that caused him to drop serve in the eighth and 10th games and lose the first set.
Ferrer twice battled back from a break down in the second, but a long forehand in the ninth game gave Nadal the break he needed to take the contest into a decider.
Nadal rallied to break in the fifth game before Ferrer scrapped for every point and saved two match points to level the scores at 5-5.
He relief was short-lived. A pair of backhand errors, a double fault and a wild smash by Ferrer put Nadal back in front and the teenager served out to win.
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