There are still some tickets left for the men’s semifinals today (Saturday), including the blockbuster between world No.4 Andy Murray and Australian young gun Bernard Tomic.
Tomic, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist, will take on Murray in a do-or-die semifinal. It’s Tomic’s first semifinal in an ATP event and his best result to date on Australian soil. While Murray is looking to take the men’s title and join other men’s winners including Andy Roddick and Robin Soderling.
In other matches during Saturday’s day session, second seed Gilles Simon takes on unpredictable third seed Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Tickets can be purchased online from Ticketek. Gates open at 10:30 am with play beginning at 12 noon.
> View the full order of play and draws
Saturday preview
The Brisbane International will crown a new women’s singles champion tonight. Either Daniela Hantuchova or Kaia Kanepi will walk away with their first Brisbane title.
Before the event started, few would have predicted this duo to be taking centre stage on finals’ weekend. But there’s no doubt that they deserve to be where they are.
Kanepi has accounted for three seeds on her way to the final, including Andrea Petkovic and Francesca Schiavone, the second and third seeds respectively.
Hantuchova fought back from a set down in her first two matches and was on pace with fifth seed Kim Clijsters right up until the Belgian injured her left hip and was forced to retire from their semifinal.
These two have played each other three times, with Hantuchova taking the honours on each occasion.
Despite this, Kanepi will like her chances. The heavy-hitting Estonian has been in dangerous form all week, her powerful ground strokes causing more than a few headaches for some of the world’s best players.
And in the women’s doubles final, American duo Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears take on fourth-seeded Spaniards Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja.
Kicking off the day session is the men’s doubles semifinal between top seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor versus third seeds Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau. The winner will play second seeds Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in the final on Sunday.
Next up it’s the first men’s singles semifinal between second seed Gilles Simon and third seed Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Almost 12 months ago, Simon defeated Dolgopolov in the Sydney quarterfinals. That was just before Dolgo went on a tear at Australian Open 2011, blasting and crashing his way to a quarterfinal at the first Grand Slam of the season.
A year on and the all-out attack of Dolgopolov will meet the measured consistency of the Frenchman, but this time in the Brisbane International semifinals.
“He’s a really solid player, I’ll have to be really concentrated and probably have to go a bit to the net because he’s really good at the baseline and doesn’t make mistakes,” said Dolgopolov.
In the second men’s semifinal, top seed and world No.4 Andy Murray faces eighth-seeded Australian Bernard Tomic. Despite this being their first meeting, Murray has already done his homework on the Queenslander.
“He’s very unorthodox, very intelligent on court, got a good tennis IQ,” was Murray’s summary of the 19-year-old.
And while the prospect of playing the world’s best may daunt some teenagers, Tomic is looking forward to the challenge.
“I have played the other players Roger [Federer], Rafa and Novak but I haven’t played him – it is a good opportunity,” Tomic said.
“I am ready. I know I can take sets off these [world top four] guys.
“In a best-of-three match like this … maybe I can pull off a win.”
Murray was clinical in his defeat of fellow Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. The frugal Scotsman gave up just four games in 65 minutes on court and offered his opponent just two chances to break serve.
But if Murray wasn’t being generous, Tomic was giving less than Uncle Scrooge. In Tomic’s 6-3 7-6(4) win over Denis Istomin he didn’t offer a single break-point opportunity, nor did he give away a double fault.
And if he’s to eclipse Murray, he’ll have to be just as miserly.