TENNIS – In the first semifinal of the Toronto Master 1000 Richard Gasquet's elegance prevailed over John Isner's raw power. The Frenchman won 7-6(3) 6-3 in 1 hour and 20 minutes. He will play top seed Djokovic for the title. From Toronto F.Sarzetto, translated by P.Sassoon

R.Gasquet d J.Isner 7-6(3) 6-3

The sun got the loudest cheer from the crowd today when it made a short appearance for no more than thirty seconds, half way through the second set. Richard Gasquet's performance today was worthy of such an applause. When Gasquet and Isner started their semifinal the Toronto sky was covered by dark, menacing clouds and a brisk, cold wind swept across the stadium (that was in sharp contrast to the unbearable heat of the first days of the tournament). The Frenchman was concentrated and determined to conquer his second Rogers Cup final from the start. He served particularly well today, hurting Isner more than the American hurt him.

In a half empty stadium, the first set followed serve throughout. In the third game Gasquet had the only two break points of the set, but Isner won both with powerful serves (the second was an ace). Meanwhile the Frenchman dropped only four points on his serve in the opening set. Gasquet forced Isner to make an error on the first point of the tie-break. The Frenchman continuously passed the giant from Greensboro with elegant passing shots every time the American tried his luck at the net. Ahead 4-2, Gasquet passed Isner with a breathtaking crosscourt forehand that was followed by a shout full of satisfaction. Isner lost the set with another unforced error.

Gasquet continued to serve well in the second set, never conceding a break point in the match. Isner, on the other hand, was in trouble in the second game where he saved two break points with two excellent first serves. In the sixth game Isner struggled with his first serve and Gasquet took advantage. At his fifth attempt the Frenchman broke serve with splendid down-the-line backhand passing shot. Gasquet managed his one break advantage until the end winning the semifinal 7-6 6-3 in one hour and 20 minutes, before some more rain started to fall.

N.Djokovic d J.Tipsarevic 6-4 6-1

On Sunday Gasquet will play Djokovic for the Rogers Cup title. The first seed won the all Serbian semifinal against Tipsarevic. The players had completed their warm-up when rain started to fall. The players were sent back to the changing rooms to wait for the conditions to improve. After an hour and a half the rain stopped and the second semifinal could start. Early in the match there was a curious episode. Djokovic was ahead 2-1 with Tipsarevic on serve. The former world number one had a break point that he thought he won, when someone (from the crowd?) said “What are you saying? That ball was out!”. After a few laughs and a discussion, the referee announced that the score was deuce and play continued! Tipsarevic held his serve, but the match was interrupted by rain with Djokovic leading 3-2, 30-30.

At ten thirty play restarted in a cold, humid and half empty arena. The stands were full when the semifinal was scheduled to start, but understandably, many fans had given up after a four hour wait.

Despite a few close games, once play resumed, there were no breaks until the tenth game. Tipsarevic served behind 4-5 and after a long game made of extended rallies, Nole broke serve forcing his friend Janko into making two forehand errors. Djokovic won the first set 6-4.

Nole increased the intensity of his tennis at the beginning of the second set. Tipsarevic fought valiantly, but in the end lost his serve when he netted a backhand. Djokovic held his service game easily and then broke serve for a second time in the set ending a long and spectacular rally with a smash on break point. Frustrated by the match, Tipsarevic threw his racquet a few meters in the air, but he caught it before it hit the ground, the crowd applauded. Ahead 5-1, Djokovic found himself behind 0-40 when serving for the match, but Nole recovered, saved another break point and ended the match with an unreturned second serve. Djokovic played well in the key moments of the match saving seven break points and lost only three first serve points.

After the match Djokovic told the press that the tournament should get some covers for the courts when it rains. Today play was suspended for three quarters of an hour to wait for the court to dry-out after just a few minutes of rain. On Sunday Djokovic and Gasquet will face each other for the Rogers Cup title at seven in the evening local time (1a.m. central European time), but we may need to check the weather forecasts...

Francesca Sarzetto