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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- 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 Sunday. In the semifinals held at the Putra Satdium in Bukit Jalil here Saturday, the world number 34 who appeared calm throughout the game 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. Meanwhile, second seeded Monaco, nicknamed 'Pico', crushed Asian number one Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4) in the other semifinal match. 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. "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, t...

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- Third seed Kei Nishikori of Japan was made to sweat before securing himself a slot in the men's singles quarterfinal of the Malaysian Open held at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil here today. The world number 17 booted out Spaniard Albert Ramos (world number 48) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-1 after a gruelling two hour and 13 minutes match. "I was struggling in the first set, probably because I was nervous, then I started to play more aggressive and not make many mistakes," said the 23 year old who was cheered by the home crowd here. The Asian number one, who is scheduled to face Russian Nikolay Davydenko, said he was not feeling like himself on the court Thursday night.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- Former champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia eased into the men's singles quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil here Thursday. The Russian ace, winner of the title in 2009, however, did not have it easy as he was given a tough fight by 2010 Asian Games silver medallist Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. A few mistakes at the net by Istomin in the last round finally gave Davydenko a slight advantage to clinch the match 7-5, 6-4 after an hour and 41 minutes. "I played much better today, played faster, improved my game than yesterday. I know he (Istomin) has a good serve and good baseline shots, the only way for me to beat him is to play faster. Overall I think I played a good game," said the 31-year old who reached the quarterfinals last year

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- It was a display of high level tennis mixed with wisdom of 15 years experience from fifth seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the Malaysian Open played at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil here Wednesday. In a highly charged match against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia tonight, the 31-year old nailed five aces and used tricky slice backhand shots to edge out the later 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), thus securing himself a slot in the second round. "It was a tough match. I did not play good in the early rounds but later managed to win six straight points in the second set," said Lopez who turned professional at the age of 16. The world no 32 will next take on Igor Sijsling of Netherland. Other players who moved in into the second round today included Alejandro Falla of Colombia, Alex Bogomolov of Russia, Dennis Istomin of Uzbekistan and 2010 champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia. Canadian Vasek Pospisil and seventh seeded Julien Benneteau of France became the firs...

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- World number five David Ferrer of Spain is eyeing victory in his third appearance at the 2012 Malaysian Open title at Stadium Putra in Bukit Jalil, here, this week. The top seed, however, is not underestimating the line-up of players this year. "I've played in 2009 and 2010, so I would love to win this time. But there're good players around -- Monaco (Juan Monaco of Argentina) is one of them, Feliciano Lopez (of Spain), Kei Nishikori (Japan), Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, so it is going to be tough," he said. Known as a clay court specialist, the 30-year-old player has a good record this year by reaching two semifinals (French and US Open) as well as reaching November's Davis Cup final with his national team. "It's the best year of my career so far. I guess I've been playing really well, I'm happy, but now it's time to focus on this tournament and try to win," he said.

FAEEZAM Said (right) may be tiny physically but the young Sabahan has big dreams. The 11-year-old's ambition is to one day represent Malaysia in the Davis Cup like his elder brother Fazree. Faeezam is one of the few talents to have surfaced from the Sabah Tennis Association's (STA) development programme, and comes from a tennis family in Sandakan. Said Norbinsha, the father, is the pillar behind Faeezam and his elder silblings Fazree and Faeez's success on court. Faeezam, though still a little raw, has caught the eye of national chief coach Rahizam Rahim at the ongoing ECM Libra Foundation-LTAM Junior Tennis Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur. Rahizam believes the player, if nurtured properly, has a great future in tennis. "Faeezam is a fighter on court and with proper guidance, he will definitely reach his full potential. I will keep him in mind for next year," said Rahizam. Faeezam said he took up tennis when he was still in ...

KL’s Marcus Chee returns a shot against Selangor’s Nazim Khan in their boys’ Under-16 quarter-final yesterday. Marcus won 6-3, 6-2. Pic: HASAN ISMAIL MARCUS Chee was Kuala Lumpur's hero when he helped his team upset top seeds Selangor 2-1 in the boys' Under-16 quarter-final of the ECM Libra Foundation-LTAM Junior Team Championships at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Selangor drew first blood when Christian Lee steamrolled younger brother Jason, representing KL, 6-2, 6-1 in the opening singles. However, Marcus played near perfect tennis to edge Nazim Khan 6-3, 6-2 to put KL on equal terms. In the doubles, Marcus-Hanifah Rahizam fought tooth-and-nail to beat Christian-Amrul Amin Mokhtar 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 much to the delight of the KL bench. KL coach Azizul Azhar Ahmad said the tactical switch to play Marcus in the second singles instead of the opening match made the difference. "Marcus has a better record against Nazim, and Marcus-H...

Najib Tun Razak bersama isteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor bergambar dengan (dari kiri) Ismail Sabri Yaakob, James Blake, John McEnroe, Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg dan Datuk Abdul Razak Latiff sebelum perlawanan beregu SOC, semalam. To advertise please contact; mohddamanhuri@gmail.com for more details... TQ KUALA LUMPUR - Pemain nombor dua dunia, Roger Federer dari Switzerland memilih Pertarungan Juara-Juara (SOC) Kuala Lumpur 2008 di Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil untuk menebus kekalahan mengejutnya pada Sukan Olimpik Beijing lalu kepada James Blake dari Amerika Syarikat, semalam. Juara Wimbledon lima kali sejak 2003 ini memenangi pertarungan dengan pemain nombor 10 dunia itu menerusi tie-break, 7-6 (10-7) di depan Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dan Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Mendapat sorakan dan pelbagai jeritan sebagai tanda sokongan 8,000 penonton, Federer, 27, hanya memerlukan 44 minit ...

John McEnroe celebrates after beating Bjorn Borg 7-6 (13-11) in their Showdown Of Champions match at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday. — Pic: HAIRUL ANUAR RAHIM WORLD No 2 Roger Federer got his revenge over James Blake in the 'Showdown of Champions' despite not being at his best at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday. The Swiss ace defeated his American opponent 7-6 (10-7) in the one-set match. In an earlier encounter, John McEnroe of the United States proved he was the King of Yesteryears by defeating Sweden's Bjorn Borg 7-6 (13-11). Federer, however, was rather off colour against Blake suggesting that he may not have recovered 100 per cent from his back injury, sustained at the Masters Cup in Shanghai. Both players broke each other's service once in the 44-minute match. Blake entered the match with a psychological advantage as he defeated Federer in their last encounter at the Beijing Olympic Games in August. It seemed that Blake ...