The big winners at the Nasdaq-100 Open were Svetlana Kuznetsova, Roger Federer and video replay. Former United States Open champion Kuznetsova earned her first title in 18 months, while Federer won the men’s final for the second year in a row and remained unbeaten in the United States since August 2004.
For 90 minutes, Svetlana Kuznetsova kept Maria Sharapova on the run, dashing from corner to corner in vain pursuit of a championship. As a weary Sharapova found herself on the verge of defeat, she went scrambling yet again after a shot and exclaimed: ”Ai-yi-yi.” The crowd laughed, and Kuznetsova won the exchange.
Even with one brief lapse, Roger Federer needed only 59 minutes to beat David Ferrer 6-1, 6-4 and reach the Nasdaq-100 Open final on Friday. His opponent on Sunday will be sixth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic, a Croat who advanced to his first final in the United States by beating number three David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-2.
Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo moved one round closer to the Nasdaq-100 Open title — and the number-one ranking — by beating Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Montenegro 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Unseeded David Ferrer of Spain became the first men’s semifinalist by sweeping number 26 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia 6-2, 6-3.