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Federer nears record in reaching Masters Cup semis
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-18 00:30
Next for Nalbandian is seventh-ranked Nikolay Davydenko, who will finish atop
an injury-depleted Gold Group. He has one round-robin match remaining against
Mariano Puerta on Friday.
Guillermo Coria of
Argentina reacts after missing a shot during a match against Roger Federer
of Switzerland in the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China November 17,
2005. [Reuters] | Federer raced through the first set, breaking Coria's serve three times.
Coria produced some stunning winners from almost nothing to lift the tempo
for some points, swiping a forehand crosscourt winner on a service return and
leaping for an overhead on his backhand for another. But Federer dominated the
first six games.
Coria, who had a medical timeout for attention on both ankles at 5-0 down in
the first set, rallied in the second by breaking Federer's serve twice.
Federer made the decisive break in the sixth game of the third set and
finished when Coria had a double-fault -- his ninth -- on match point.
Nalbandian didn't ease up at any stage against Ljubicic, who sprayed a
backhand wide on match point, one of 22 unforced errors.
"If I would play all the time like this, my ranking would be much higher,"
said Nalbandian, seeded eighth here. "I need a lot of motivation sometimes --
today was one of my best indoor matches."
Ljubicic looked flat after taking Federer to a third-set tiebreaker before
losing two days earlier.
"I think I gave more than I had against Roger ... there's really not much I
can say," Ljubicic explained. "I couldn't do much really and (Nalbandian) was
playing unbelievable.
"Really there's nothing to feel ashamed of. It's just
disappointing to run out of gas just a couple meters to the finish line."
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