want to beat Spain, were going to have to come out with a wi
submit to reddit

  • CHENNAI, India -- Second-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia won the Chennai Open title Sunday by beating Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Authentic Russell Wilson Jersey . The ninth-ranked Tipsarevic won his fourth ATP title against an opponent who was playing in his first tour final. But it was the Spaniard who had the better start, winning the first three games en route to taking the first set. Tipsarevic, who lost to Canadian Milos Raonic in last years final, then dominated the second set and broke early in the third. Bautista-Agut, who beat top-seeded Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, seemed to struggle with a leg injury and needed on-court treatment during the second set. Tipsarevic had said after the semifinal that he was prepared for a tough final despite his opponents lack of experience and he was proved right as Bautista-Agut made a strong start. The Spaniard took the early lead, wrapping up the first set as Tipsarevics game was a career-high ranking of No. 69 last January and has had success in singles and doubles. "He can volley, hes got the feel, he can drop, hes got good hands," Laurendeau said. "Given the chance, he can hold his own and do his share of damage playing doubles. Its not at the top of his priorities but given the chance he can take on most of the teams out there." Canada is hoping the indoor courts at UBCs Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre will provide an advantage against the top-rannked Spaniards, who are most dominant on clay. Seahawks Autographed Jerseys. Anchored by world No. 5 David Ferrer, Spain has several top-flight players and will present a stiff challenge in the best-of-five tie. "From our end, we dont have the same depth as Spain but our top players can hold their own against any of their guys," Laurendeau said. Spain dropped a 3-2 decision to the Czech Republic in the 2012 final, a loss that prevented the Spaniards from claiming a sixth Davis Cup crown. Canada maintained its spot in the World Group with a 4-1 victory over South Africa last September in Montreal. The hard-serving Raonic has shown that he can hang with anyone on tour, especially on an indoor synthetic hardcourt. If he can pull out a couple of singles victories and Canada can add a point in doubles or in the other singles matches, the host side will have a shot. The roster must be named 10 days before the start of the Feb. 1-3 tie but up to two player changes can be made after that. For his lineup, Laurendeau must consider previous head-to-head matchups, big-match experience and health and fitness. "As far as Im concerned the No. 1 thing is to have everyone playing, everyone healthy and then well select (the lineup) accordingly depending on whos showing the best form that early in the season," Laurendeau said. Injuries have been a problem for the Canadians over the last few years. Polansky and Dancevic have had some injury issues and Raonic had to bow out of a key Davis Cup match last February against France due to a knee problem that did not prove to be serious. Its also unclear who might be the best fit to play with Nestor, who has been a dominant force on the doubles circuit for years. Laurendeau has said Nestors partner will be whoever is playing the best at the time. "Thats where his experience comes into play," Laurendeau said of the doubles veteran. "The ideal scenario is to play with the same guy every match of the year but come Olympics and Davis Cup thats difficult to do. "Hes important to the team because of his experience and his ability to play with whoever is thrown out there with him." The tie will begin with two singles matches on the Friday of Davis Cup week. The doubles match goes Saturday and reverse singles are set for Sunday. "Doubles on Saturday is always an important point and weve lost the last couple of points on Saturday, the last two times that we played," Laurendeau said. "Weve really got to address that, the fact that if we want to beat Spain, were going to have to come out with a win on Saturday this time around for sure." Raonics performance will be particularly critical for the 12th-ranked Canadian side at the 6,500-seat venue. "Hes a guy that trains really hard in the off-season and its not a coincidence that hes done well early in the season the last two years," Laurendeau said. "And if we want to beat Spain, well need him to do it a third year in a row. "We need Milos to be at the top of his game." ------ With files from The Associated Press. ' ' '

    Lieutenant
    avatar

New Reply

If you were logged in you would gain 3 XP for posting a reply.

Please respect our terms of use when participating in Nibbits.

Preview
Comment
We will show a masked version of your IP address as well as your name.

Support Nibbits by linking to us: