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ADELAIDE, Australia: France’s Michael Llodra ended the fairytale
run of 32-year-old Australian Joseph Sirianni in the semifinals of
the Australian men’s hardcourt championships Saturday, winning
6-3, 7-6 (10-8).
Llodra will face third seed Jarkko Nieminen in
the final following the Finn’s 6-2, 6-4 win over another
Frenchman, sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Sirianni was granted a wild card into the
tournament after a successful run in local Challenger tournaments.
He stunned onlookers with a come-from-behind win
over world number 25 Paul-Henri Mathieu in the quarterfinals but
Llodra disappointed the Adelaide fans when he finally ended
Sirianni’s run in one hour, 38 minutes.
Llodra wouldn’t rule out Sirianni’s chances
of making an impact on the men’s tour, despite his age.
“He is running very well and has a very good
backhand, so if he continues like that we’re going to see more of
him on tour,” Llodra said.
After Llodra won the first set easily, Sirianni
fought back in the second, with the set on serve until the tiebreak.
The Australian had three set points at 6-3 to
keep the match alive but a combination of nerves and fatigue proved
too much and Llodra eventually closed it out 10-8.
-- AFP
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