Nieminen beats Blake to reach Stockholm final

Finnish player terms win as among ‘the top ten’ of his career.

STOCKHOLM:

Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen defeated two-time champion James Blake 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 to reach his third final at the Stockholm Open.

Nieminen, who lost trophy bids here in 2001 and 2006, will play for his second career title.

Blake had begaun his week by eliminating second-seed Juan Martin Del Potro, while Nieminen put out third-seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round.

For Blake this was only his third defeat in the capital.

“I was angry with the way I played,” he said. “I had chances and didn’t take them. Jarkko played more aggressive and served better than I’ve ever seen him do. He deserved to win.”

Nieminen, who almost matched Blake with five aces to the American’s six and broke five times in a victory lasting just over two hours, found little fault with his performance.

“This was pretty close to my best,” he said. “It’s one of the top ten wins of my career.”

Meanwhile, in the doubles event Pakistan’s Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his partner Rohan Bopanna will play the final of the tournament today.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2011.