Andre Agassi/Getty Images

Nadal Reaches Final; Agassi Downs Rusedski

August 13, 2005 - Top seed Rafael Nadal broke at 5-5 in the second set and closed out with his own serve to defeat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 7-5 and advanced to the final of the Rogers Cup on Saturday evening.

With the win, Nadal improves to 5-1 here and reaches his fourth Masters Series final this year (second on clay). He claimed the titles in Monte Carlo and Rome and lost in a thrilling five-set to World No. 1 Roger Federer.

Nadal was serving for the match at 5-4 but got broken at love to tie the set at 5-5. He recovered the break immediately and was nearly perfect on his own serve to close out the match in 1 hour, 49 minutes of play.

"I was a little bit nervous at the end, but I think is normal. The important thing is that I got the win against a player that has been playing very good. I'm very happy to be in my fourth Masters Series final." Nadal said.

The Spanish youngster will play Andre Agassi in the final, who stopped former Canadian Greg Rusedski of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and three minutes of play.

Despite nine aces against three, Rusedski's powerful serve wasn't enough to overcome the American, who's looking for his fourth career Canadian Open title.

Agassi clearly explained his strategy: “You know, against Greg, for me it's important that I'm controlling the back-court rallies and not letting him get a chance to get in,” he said. “That means serving well enough just to keep him back. But I really hit a good rhythm on it, got a lot of free points, kept control of the match when I was in the back of the court. That put a little bit more pressure on him to hold.”

Agassi, who has never before played Nadal, knows how talented the Spaniard is. “ He moves incredibly well. I'm just going to have to be obviously picking my shots and playing great tennis, which I hope to do.”

One of the most accessible tournaments

The Rogers Cup presented by National Bank is more accessible than ever thanks to the Uniprix Zone, Neighbourhood Day, and Tide & Downy Family Day.

Excellent tickets are still available for all sessions on Centre Court and for the National Bank Court. Tickets start at just $10, with the final weekend starting at just $40. For more information on this tournament or to buy tickets, call (514) 273-1515 (toll free 1-866-338-2685).

MORE NEWS+ HOME