Federer, Nadal in final
Roger Federer advanced to the Swiss Indoors final at Basel, Swizerland, on Saturday to set up his first title match against Rafael Nadal since May 2013. The top-seeded Federer eased to a 6-3, 6-4 victory in 64 minutes against unseeded Jack Sock of the United States in the semifinals. Earlier, the third-seeded Nadal played his best tennis of the week in beating Richard Gasquet of France 6-4, 7-6 (7). Almost 21/2 years after Nadal beat Federer in two sets for the Rome Masters title, the 34th match-up of their careers will come at Federer’s hometown event. Nadal suggested Federer would start as the favorite today with a better record on indoor hard courts.
Roberto Bautista Agut saved six match points before beating American Steve Johnson 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) Saturday to reach the final of the Valencia (Spain) Open. Johnson had his first match point in the 12th game of the deciding set and then led 6-3 in the tiebreaker without being able to clinch the victory. Bautista Agut then set up his first match point with a backhand return winner and converted it when Johnson sent a backhand long. He will play Joao Sousa in the final after the Portuguese player beat Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4. Bautista Augut said “it was an incredible match. It was really tough and I was really close to losing. I think today I could win, I could lose — anything was possible on the court.”
Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic will chase her second WTA Finals title after outplaying third-seeded Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the semifinals Saturday in Singapore. The fourth-seeded Kvitova, who won this title on her first attempt in 2011, plays fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the final. Radwanska advanced to the final for the first time in seven appearances, beating second-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-5. Sharapova had a 5-1 lead in the second set but couldn’t push the match into a decisive third set. The Russian served for the second set in the eighth and 10th games, but didn’t reach set point in either game.