Rubin to face Martinez in Acura Classic final

Rubin to face Martinez in Acura Classic final

MANHATTAN BEACH, California (Reuter): Tenth seed Chanda Rubin
took full advantage of a below-par Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to
defeat the top seed 6-3 6-1 on Saturday and advance into the
final of the Acura Classic against Conchita Martinez of Spain.

The second-seeded Martinez beat unseeded Indonesian Yayuk
Basuki 6-1 7-6 (7-4) in the day's second semifinal.

Martinez reached her second final in two weeks by ending the
run of Yayuk, who had upset three seeds on her way to the
semifinals.

A tentative approach by Yayuk led to the Spaniard dominating
most of the match. Yayuk claimed just two points in the first
three games as her ineffective sliced backhand failed to offer
any challenge.

Although Yayuk held four break points at 1-2 in the second
set, the Spaniard stayed in control. At 5-3 she held match point,
but Yayuk saved it with a lob as Martinez complained the
Indonesian's serve had been long.

Yayuk held for 5-4 and finally brought the match alive as she
saved a second match point and broke for 5-5 by forcing a
forehand error. But her effort was too little too late, and
Martinez held on to take the tiebreak 7-4.

"She's very consistent and her heavy topspin was giving me
trouble, but I wasn't the toughest I could be," said Yayuk.
"I've tried to serve and volley against her before and that's
what she expected, so I tried to mix it up more. But it didn't
work."

Martinez was surprised she has such an easy match after being
taken to three sets in their last two meetings.

"She was missing and all I had to do was put the ball in
play," said Martinez.

Sanchez Vicario broke to lead 2-1 and then held two break
points for a 4-1 lead.

But the rest of the match belonged to Rubin, the 19-year-old
Louisiana daughter of a judge.

Her strong forehand and ability to stretch her opponent wide,
backed up by her willingness to come in to the net when she had
the opportunity, meant the biggest win of her career was well-
deserved.

"I really attacked well and executed my game plan, which was
to hit out on my forehand and get in when I could. I wanted to
get her on the move, and to mix it up and not hit everything
deep, and it worked," said Rubin, who upset Argentine Gabriela
Sabatini in the quarter-finals.

While Rubin was aggressive, Sanchez Vicario was a pale shadow
of her normal self. Her serve was completely ineffective, she was
slow and lethargic, and after the first few games she posed no
threat at all.

"I was a little bit off and not as fast into the ball. It was
a very bad day for me. Sometimes it happens but the thing to do
is to forget it," said the disappointed Spaniard.

"Chanda attacked very well and my balls were not deep enough
to make her feel uncomfortable. She hit the ball hard both sides
and waited until she had a chance."

Sanchez Vicario put only 49 percent of her first serves into
play, which was exactly what she didn't want against an opponent
with such a good return.

"It's completely different when you can make your first serve
and put some pressure. I served really bad and she attacks your
second serve really well," said Sanchez Vicario.

Agassi vs Chang

In Mason, Ohio, it was a scorcher on stadium court at the
US$1.8 million ATP Championship on Saturday but Andre Agassi was
cool as can be as he quickly disposed of 13th-seeded Thomas
Enqvist of Sweden 6-4 6-2.

In an All-American final, the top-seeded Agassi will take on
fourth-seeded Michael Chang, whom he leads 8-3 in career matches.

The fifth-ranked Chang won an impressive 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-5)
victory over eighth-seeded Michael Stich of Germany in a match
that showcased the sport at its finest level.

"It's kind of a shame someone has to lose that kind of a
match," Chang said of the two hour, 10-minute match. "I'll look
back on my career and say I played a lot of really tough, quality
matches."

Chang will be trying to become the first player to win this
title three years in a row.

Agassi was so comfortable during his one hour, 10 minute match
that he had plenty of time to glance over at the on-court
thermometer.

"It was 125 (degrees Fahrenheit/52 Celsius) plus," Agassi
said. "I thought, boy, my opponent must feel like crap right
now."
But the only thing that seemed hot about Agassi was his tennis.

Agassi is now 59-7 in match play in 1995 and 80-9 since last
year's U.S. Open, which he won.

The current king of tennis, Agassi came out aggressively,
determined to be on the offensive and put pressure on Enqvist's
powerful serve. The strategy worked. Enqvist felt the squeeze and
ended up with a low 44 percent first service percentage.