Federer Masters Paris at last

Swiss star just second man to win both tournaments in French capital
Former world number one Roger Federer won his first Paris Masters title with a 6-1 7-6 victory in the final against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The 30-year-old Swiss third seed became only the second player after Andre Agassi to win titles at Roland Garros and Bercy - the two men's Paris tournaments - thanks to a suberb display over 85 breathtaking minutes.

Federer raced to a 4-0 lead and claimed the opening set in 30 minutes against the sixth seed thanks to his sharp first serve and devastating forehand.

The Frenchman at least made a contest of the second set, threatening to break on two occasions, but it eventually went to a tiebreak which Federer won 7-3 after racing into a 4-0 lead.


Federer Masters Paris

It was Federer's third ATP title of the year after tournament wins in Doha and his home town of Basel last week. It was also his 18th Masters title, second only to Rafael Nadal who has one more to his name.

Tsonga had two break points in the first game but Federer held him off with two first-serve winners.

The Swiss moved 4-0 up after a Tsonga return went wide and a double fault earned him a double break, as a frustrated Tsonga struggled for ideas in front of vociferous support from the majority of a 14,500 crowd.
Chance

Tsonga had a flicker of a chance in the second set, earning a break point in the fourth game with a sizzling crosscourt passing shot, but blew his opportunity by sending a forehand wide.

Tsonga faced a break point in the 10th game but staved it off at the net and the contest went into a tiebreak which Federer won comfortably.

Federer, who had been facing the prospect of failing to win either a grand slam or a Masters title in a season for the first time since 2001, said: "I'm very happy with my performance today. I'm amazed by how well I played.

"I don't think Jo played a bad match. It's good to complete the tournament so solidly."

Tsonga admitted: "I'm a bit disappointed that I have not been able to play better. He was better today. He was just too quick."

Federer will head to the ATP Tour Finals in London next week on a 12-match winning streak, after claiming his 69th career title from 99 finals.

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Wozniacki Menang, Sharapova Tumbang

Istanbul - Petenis nomor satu dunia, Caroline Wozniacki mengawali kiprahnya di WTA Tour Championship dengan kemenangan atas Agnieszka Radwanska. Sementara Maria Sharapova menderita kekalahan.

Menjalani pertandingan pertamanya di Grup Merah, Wozniacki dapat perlawanan sengit dari Radwanska. Sempat tertinggal di set pertama, petenis asal Denmark itu akhirnya bisa menang dengan 5–7, 6–2 dan 6–4.

Setelah dibuat kesulitan oleh Radwanska di set pertama, Wozniacki bangkit di set kedua. Dia berhasil membuat enam kali break sebelum menutup setk kedua dengan keungulan 6-2.

Pada set penentuan Wozniacki mampu langsung unggul 4-2, namun servisnya kemudian mampu dipatahkan Radwanska. Lewat perjuangan berat Wozniacki akhirnya menutup laga dengan keunggulan 6-4.

"Saya sangat gembira bisa memetik kemenangan. Itu pertandingan yang berat di sana. Agnieszka belakangan ini bermain dengan sangat baik. Itu membuat frustrasi karena gagal di set pertama meski sudah mendapatkan tiga kali set poin, tapi saya berhasil menenangkan diri dan melakukan perlawanan," sahut Wozniacki usai laga seperti diberitakan BBC.

Sementara itu dari Grup Putih, Maria Sharapova dipaksa mengakui keunggulan Samantha Stosur. Petenis nomor dua dunia asal Rusia itu menyerah dua set langsung dengan 1-6 dan 5-7.

Setelah tampil buruk di set pertama, Sharapova sesungguhnya punya peluang mencuri set kedua. Namun keunggulan 3-0 yang sempat dia raih gagal dituntaskan menjadi kemenangan.

"Butuh waktu untuk bisa mendapatkan permainan saya. Jelas itu sulit untuk melakukancomeback dan berkompetisi di level ini. Tapi ini sesuatu yang baik karena membuka kesempatan pada diri saya, dan saya melakukan semaksimal mungkin untuk setidaknya berada di sini," ungkap Sharapova mengomentari dirinya yang baru comeback usai mengalami cedera.
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MALAYSIA HEAT 'TAKES THE CAKE'

Soaring temperatures and humidity levels are causing concern for the stellar field assembled for this week's CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

The co-sanctioned $6.1million PGA Tour and Asian Tour event begins on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, where temperatures are touching highs of 32 degrees and humidity is above 90 per cent.


American Brandt Snedeker - a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year - said: "I got in Monday night and kind of walked around and got acclimatised to it.

"We try to compare the weather here to Memphis because we play Memphis in June. Memphis in June is hot, but I think this takes the cake.

"This is mild today, they said. It's all overcast, but I walked outside and I was sweating at 9:00am."

Swede Fredrik Jacobson added: "I always had a tough time playing in Malaysia and in Thailand because coming from Sweden and living there, those were the first tournaments of the year for us in the 90s.

"I was coming straight out of the wintry climate in Sweden and coming into the hot, humid weather was always difficult. Now coming from Florida, the weather feels more like what I am used to in Florida."

American Jonathan Byrd, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, said he had never known heat like it. "I grew up in South Carolina and that's hot. But it's very different here, I sweated a lot today."

But not everyone was concerned. Asian Tour regular Siddikur, who prefers to go by the one name, said: "Coming from Bangladesh, this is normal for me. I like it."

Temperatures and humidity levels are expected to remain sky-high throughout the week and are unlikely to be tempered by the heavy rains that are also forecast.
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