Mikhail Youzhny wins Malaysian Open title
Mikhail Youzhny has won the seventh ATP Tour title of his career by defeating Andrey Golubev in the final of the Malaysian Open.
Youzhny dropped the first set against his Russian compatriot but after going the distance in each of his previous matches in Kuala Lumpur staged a comeback in the decider to secure the 6-7(7), 6-2, 7-6(3) win.
The victory sees the 28-year-old climb one place on the rankings table to become the new world No. 8, equalling the career-high ranking he reached at the beginning of 2008.
Youzhny’s victory is the continuation of some strong form from the US Open, where he reached the semi-finals before falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.
The result also continues the Russian dominance of the tournament in its short history, with Nikolay Davydenko winning the title here in 2009. Though the world No. 6’s title defence lasted just one match, as a lean run of form continues, Youzhny has at least ensured the title stays in Russian hands for another year.
True to form, the Russian No. 2 – though on the current form of both himself and Davydenko, one has to wonder how much longer that will remain the situation – celebrated the win with his customary improvised military salute.
In the weekend’s other ATP final, at the PTT Thailand Open, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez upstaged a big-name field to win the title with a three-set victory over Jarkko Nieminen.
It was perhaps just reward for the player who had arrived in Bangkok ranked as the world No. 53, who had done what no-one has been able to do at the year’s final three Grand Slams – to emerge victorious against Nadal.
Garcia-Lopez’s 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 win against Nadal in the semi-finals was his first against his Spanish compatriot (though it was only the third time they’ve played one another in their careers) and set up his second ATP Tour final of the season, his first ending in a loss to Michael Llodra on grass at Eastbourne.
The 27-year-old was able to go one better against Nieminen and in doing so secured just the second ATP title of his career, in the process improving his ranking by 14 places to become the new world No. 39.
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