Bjorkman rules over Arthurs
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Your support makes all the difference.Jonas Bjorkman announced his Wimbledon intentions here by winning the Samsung Open in three sets against Australia's Wayne Arthurs. The Swede, who had last won an ATP Tour title on this very court four years ago, has fast become the player all the seeds want to avoid.
Spare a thought, then, for the No 1 seed, Lleyton Hewitt, who faces the sternest possible test in his opening match on the grass courts of the All England Club. With Bjorkman in this sort of form, the outcome of the tie is far from certain. The one thing that is sure, however, is that Hewitt's upset stomach will not be feeling any better this morning. "Lleyton is a very different kind of player from Wayne," said Bjorkman, who defeated Tim Henman in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January and disposed of Britain's No 2, Greg Rusedski, in the semi-finals here on Friday. "He will be trying to beat me from the back of the court and will be very tough to break down. But I'm confident now."
The swirling winds made conditions tricky for both players, although Bjorkman coped the better, ending the week without having dropped his serve once. The big-serving Arthurs, meanwhile, struggled to get into any kind of rhythm yesterday. In the third game, he managed to claw his way back from 15-40 to deuce, but was unable to repeat the feat two games later, and was broken.
Bjorkman's success owed much to his excellent back-hand returns and, once he had edged in front, he could not be caught in the opening set. Arthurs only precipitated the inevitable when he threw away the seventh game with a double fault and an unforced error at the net. Bjorkman eased through 6-2.
Arthurs was far more solid in the second set, holding his serve comfortably and even gaining a break point in the fourth game. The were no breaks, though, and the 31-year-old, who was born in Adelaide but now lives in Middlesex, needed a good tie-break, which he won 7-5, to level the match.
The comeback was short-lived, as he eventually succumbed to Bjorkman's power and consistency, losing the third set 6-2 after being broken twice. But Arthurs was happy with his week's work. "I've been struggling a lot and come back from a long way," the 6ft 4in leftie said, "so I'm just happy to have got this far."
Ironically, a favourable draw means Arthurs will probably go further than his conqueror at Wimbledon in the next fortnight.
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