Goran Ivanisevic started out strongly but faded on serve as top seed Gustavo Kuerten moved into the final of the $800,000 RCA Championships, 1-6 6-3 6-2, in Indianapolis yesterday in a match postponed because of rain.
Kuerten, the Brazilian with six titles already to his credit this season, was later taking on Patrick Rafter for the title. Rafter reached his fourth straight final, but has failed to nab a title in his last three trophy matches - a streak that started with his loss to Ivanisevic at Wimbledon.
Ivanisevic said that after ripping through the opening set in 21 minutes from a 5-0 lead - Kuerten got into the match with three aces in the sixth game - his level faded fast. Against a world-beater like Kuerten, that was a fatal error. "He played a bad first set, but I had a bad game early in the second," said the Croatian. If you let him get some confidence he'll run all over you.
"After the first set, my serving percentage dropped very low," said the 10th seed, who produced 14 aces but his only 49 percent of his first serves. "You have to serve well against the top guys." One of the trio of Ivanisevic alter egos, Bad Goran, put in an unwelcome appearance as the player was trying to mount a come-back.
Ivanisevic, who had already broken one racket in the morning contest, smashed another one in the third game of the final set after missing on a break point. That gesture earned him a game penalty. "I was just frustrated," he said. "I had missed like 11 first serves in a row, then I then missed easy forehand.
The man who admits to being the master of several competing personalities added: "Good Goran was frustrated, but he didn't want to break a racket. But Bad Goran pushed my arm down that extra two inches for the break. I forgot I already had a warning."
On Saturday, Rafter reached the decider by ousting last year's losing finalist Marat Safin of Russia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (9/7). Rafter went into the final desperate for a title, having claimed his last one in June, 2000.
Meanwhile Ireland's John Doran and US partner Alex Witt lost out in the men's doubles final at the Cumberland Futures Tournament in London.
Playing Britain's Simon Dickson and James Nelson in the final, they took the number two seeds to a first-set tie break. But then the opposition gained control, winning the tie break 7-3 and the second set 6-1 for the title.
In the women's doubles final, Claire Curran and Swedish partner Helena Ejeson won through to the final before going under to Czech Eva Erbova and Aurelia Vedy from France.
In their semi-final, Curran and Ejeson beat Russian top seeds Natalie Egerova and Ekaterina Syssoeva by an impressive 7-6 6-0 after taking the first-set tie break 7-4.
Then they opted to play the final on Saturday afternoon instead of yesterday. It was a decision which may have cost them the edge, for Erbova and Vedy won a close match 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
