By RobPeterson (TennisEarth.com), Submitted On
»See All 0 Comments | »Post Your Views

Third seed and home favourite Mikhail Youzhny reached the final of the 2009 Kremlin Cup with a straight sets demolition of Kazakh qualifier and namesake Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-1 in just 68 minutes of play.

Youzhny looked in cruise control throughout the match and fired 6 aces coupled with a break point conversion rate of 67% to seal the deal.

"I am glad I have reached the final in Moscow, my home tournament, but I don't want to think about it too much as there is one more match to go," said Youzhny.

Youzhny's opponent in the final is the mighty Serbian Janko Tipsarevic who made it to the first final of the season with a 6-1, 6-4 win over another qualifier, Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, winning the match in almost 90 minutes of gruelling tennis.

“I am really happy with the way I handled the match, as I was the favourite and I don’t play a semi-final of a big event every day. I had watched him play before and I thought the other players were using the wrong tactic against him.  I knew that I had to mix it up."

"I really like to play in Russia and at this tournament.  I like everything: the hotel, the organisation, the court. The difference between the old and the new Janko is the way I think on court.  My new coach (Dirk Hordorff) made me change in that respect," Tipsarevic said.

The two finalists have met twice this year with the Serbian having won both the encounters in Rotterdam and Miami.

"Janko has been playing well lately, winning a Challenger.  I practiced with him before the tournament and he impressed me.  We played twice in the past and he always beat me so it is going to be a very difficult match," said Youzhny.