STOCKHOLM — Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych will contest the Stockholm Open final after contrasting semifinal wins Saturday. Top-seeded Tsonga advanced after 2009 champion Marcos Baghdatis retired with a left groin strain in the deciding set, with Tsonga leading 6-4, 4-6, 5-2. Second-seeded Berdych recorded a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win over third-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain. Baghdatis picked up his injury at 4-2 in the decider, when he attempted to run down a Tsonga forehand winner on a break point on Tsonga's serve. The Cypriot decided to retire after a medical timeout. “These things happen sometimes, I hope he recovers fast,” said Tsonga, who recorded his fourth win over Baghdatis in as many meetings. “We played some good tennis ... I missed maybe two or three opportunities to finish off the match a bit earlier. But I'm pleased with my performance. I hope I'll be able to play like this (in the final).” It was the first serious test for Tsonga in his debut in the Swedish capital. He and Berdych are chasing their third title of the year, and a place in the eight-man ATP Finals in London in three weeks. Berdych has a 3-1 edge over Tsonga in head-to-head meetings, coming off a quarterfinal win over the Frenchman in Shanghai last week. “That was a close game decided by one or two points. But conditions here are different, it's indoor with different balls,” the Czech said. “He's a tough opponent and a great server. He plays aggressive like I do and you're probably not going to see many long rallies tomorrow.” Almagro was unable to match Berdych's powerful baseline strokes and serves. “I was serving well from the start and when my serve is working, it makes the game easier,” Berdych said. “That was a close game decided by one or two points. But conditions here are different, it's indoor with different balls,” said the Czech. Zemlja stuns Tipsarevic Top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro and qualifier Grega Zemlja advanced to the final of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna Saturday. A runner-up last year, Del Potro defeated Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) to reach his fourth final of the year, while Zemlja rallied to stun second-seeded Janko Tipsarevic 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 for his first career final. The 70th-ranked Zemlja was 0-4 against top-10 players. The Slovenian played 15 sets to get to the final, Del Potro seven. “This is an incredible dream,” said Zemlja, who defeated third-seeded Tommy Haas in the quarterfinals. “I am full of confidence now. I have no tactics yet to play Del Potro. I will have to talk to my coach first.” In his 17th career final, Del Potro is looking for his 12th title and third of the season after winning in Marseille and Estoril. He has never played Zemlja before. Del Potro is playing his first tournament since returning from a wrist injury that sidelined him for more than a month. “Being in the final means a lot to me after a month without playing,” he said. “I am getting better match by match. I am improving on my game, on my confidence. I am happy to play my second final in a row here.” — Agencies
