Federer, Zverev in title tilt
Montreal, Aug. 13: Swiss superstar Roger Federer turned in a precision performance Saturday at the ATP Montreal tennis, using thundering serves and clever backhands to defeat unseeded Robin Haase for a spot in the final.
The 36-year-old Federer blasted nine aces and lost just nine points on his serve as he extended his match win streak to 16 — his longest win streak in five years.
He raised his game to another level when it mattered most, beating the Netherlands Haase 6-3, 76 (5) in just 75 minutes.
“I’m very excited to be back in the finals,” Federer said. “A bit surprising, to be quite honest, because I hadn’t practiced much.”
Federer has taken more time off this year than usual. He skipped the clay-court season from April to mid-June.
“I came from vacation, did some fitness, saw how I was feeling and said, ‘You know what, I practiced so much the last year, let’s go play some matches.’
“It’s a big bonus right now and I hope I can play as free as I have so far in the finals tomorrow.”
Second seeded Federer will clash with German Alexander Zverev who ended the Cinderella run of 18-year old Canadian Denis Shapovalov with a 6-4, 75 win in the other semifinal. The 19-time Grand Slam winner Federer is seeking his 27th Masters 1000 title and his third Canadian Masters crown after wins in 2004 and 2006. Haase, who hit 17 winners, made a late charge and forced a second-set tiebreak before Federer stymied the challenge to win the match. Zverev came into Montreal with four titles this season while Shapovalov had just three career match victories. Shapovalov leaves Montreal with seven career wins, including a shocking upset of 10-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.
The fourth seeded Zverev broke Shapovalov at 4-4 in the first set then served for the set to silence the partisan crowd.
Ultimately, Zverev played better in the key moments, finishing with two aces, winning 81 percent of his first-serve points and breaking the Canadian three times.
Wozniacki faces Svitolina in final Toronto: Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki rolled into the final of the WTA Toronto tennis by cooling off the red-hot Sloane Stephens, while Elina Svitolina needed two wins Saturday to punch her ticket to the title match.
Wozniacki required 80 minutes to eliminate a resurgent Stephens 6-2, 63 and reach her sixth final of 2017.
Fifth seeded Svitolina quashed defending champ Simona Halep’s quest for back-to-back titles with a 6-1, 6-1 demolition. The win came just hours after she ousted reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza 4-6, 64, 6-3 in a quarter-final that was postponed from Friday due to rain.