Sport | Tennis

Ward to meet Prpic in final of ITF F2 Futures

Great Britain's James Ward will meet Sweden's Filip Prpic in the final of the ITF F2 Futures for the Al Wasl Club UAE National Day Tennis to be played on Saturday.

  • By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
  • Published: 23:24 November 28, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Prasad Nair/Gulf News
  • Filip Prpic returns shot to Ivo Klec during semifinals of the ITF F2 Futures for the Al Wasl UAE National Day Cup, played at the Al Wasl Club tennis court in Dubai.

Dubai: Great Britain's James Ward will meet Sweden's Filip Prpic in the final of the ITF F2 Futures for the Al Wasl Club UAE National Day Tennis to be played on Saturday.

Both semifinals were evenly contested with Ward getting past Ivan Sergeyev 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, while Prpic defeated Slovakian Ivo Klec 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The final will be played at 3pm at the Al Wasl Club tennis courts on Saturday.

Friday's two semifinals were highly entertaining affairs with both games going the distance. In the first, it was Ward who was off to a great start taking the first set 6-1. But Sergeyev fought back in the second to pull even with a 6-4 win.

In the third, things were evenly matched at the start, but the British player pulled away in the third with a break and then really never looked behind.

"I think it was superior serve that saw me through," admitted Ward.

"I think he was better than me today," stated Sergeyev. "I tried to keep the ball in play all the time, but I ended up making far too many mistakes and then paid for them," he added.

Last week too, Sergeyev had fallen in the semifinals at the F1 Futures for the Dubai Aviation Cup. "Two semifinals in two weeks may sound good, but then it is points that I am after. Maybe I should have risked more during this match" added the Ukrainian player.

On the other hand, this has been a good year for Ward. He has won two ITF Futures and reached eight semifinals, thus earning himself the highest ranking of his singles career. "I hope I can finish it off with a win tomorrow in the final," Ward hoped.

In the second semifinal, Klec was left ruing the host of lost opportunities that came his way. He won the first set 6-1, only to lose focus and go down in the second 2-6. With nerves getting the better of him, the Slovakian was finally broken as Prpic took set and match 6-4 in the final set.

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