'Beast' Mirnyi Slays Doubles Partner Federer
Sat February 22, 2003 11:04 AM ET
By Pritha Sarkar

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) - Belarussian Max Mirnyi outduelled his doubles partner and second seed Roger Federer 5-7 6-3 6-4 to reach the World Indoor Tournament final Saturday.

Nicknamed "The Beast," the towering Mirnyi savaged his friend in three brutal sets to snap Federer's 10-match winning streak and enter only the second final of his career.

Federer, gunning for his second trophy in as many weeks after capturing the Marseille Open last Sunday, got off to a flying start by breaking Mirnyi in the opening game of the match.

But with Mirnyi ominously stalking Federer's every move, he grabbed the break back in the sixth game with a series of scorching service returns.

Even when Federer bagged the first set through a Mirnyi double fault on set point, the world number 46 refused to let his opponent dictate play.

The defending doubles champion here with Federer, Mirnyi gradually dug his claws into a frustrated Federer and levelled the match after 66 minutes with a thundering ace.

There was little to separate the players in the first eight games of the final set as both refused to give an inch.

But Mirnyi, who had not won back-to-back matches this year before his arrival in Rotterdam, finally moved in for the kill in the ninth when Federer momentarily lost his focus.

At 15-40, he forced the Swiss to hit a lame forehand into the net to gain the break, leaving Federer to smash his racket into the ground in disgust.

An emphatic ace on his first match point sealed Mirnyi's passage into a final for the first time since the 2001 Stuttgart Masters.

Rotterdam-born Raemon Sluiter, who played less than four games in his quarter-final Friday after top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero was forced to retire with an ankle injury, meets Sebastien Grosjean in the other semi-final.

Grosjean is bidding to continue the French domination of the event for the fourth successive year. Cedric Pioline triumphed here in 2000 while Nicolas Escude was victorious for the last two seasons.

The exits of Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Escude Friday mean that a new name will join the roll of honor at the event, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.