KUALA LUMPUR: Seventh seeded Julien Benneteau of France stunned top seed David Ferrer of Spain to book his berth in the men’s singles final of the Malaysian Open today.
In the semi-final held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday, the world number 34 sent the world number five packing 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and 37 minutes.
Benneteau will face Argentinian ace Juan Monaco in the final.
Second seeded Monaco crushed Asian number one Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4).
In a highly charged match that lasted two hours and 41 minutes, both players fought valiantly, dragging the game to a tie break decider. Monaco, however, managed to lead the tie break a few points up thus giving him an advantage over the Japanese. — Bernama
“I lost my rhythm a bit when the game was stopped, when he called for medical time out. But I managed to comeback to my game, told myself not to miss easy balls, concentrate on the match.
“It was a difficult match, but I never gave up until the the last ball and that is I why I believe I deserved to win this time,” said the 28-year old who is making his debut in the tournament. — Bernama