Gulf News
December 21

Top seed Oleg Ogodorov kept up his search for the title with a classy 6-3, 6-3 win over third seed Alexey Kedriouky to set up a clash with unseeded Ouassel Hared in the final of the 12th Aviation Cup tennis tournament.

Hared, a winner here in 1996, though erratic in patches, managed to ward off seventh seed Anton Kokurin 6-3, 6-4 to make it to his second final in this event.

The top from Uzbekistan looked a winner from the start as he dominated his opponent from Kazakhstan with his big serves. Kedriouky will rue his missed chance of breaking Ogodorov's serve in the very first game, after leading 40-0.

But a couple of big serves from the Uzbek saw him claw right back and win the point, never to look behind as the match progressed. "It's the final that is most important to me and I hope to play well," Ogodorov said.

For the big-built player from Uzbekistan, Thursday's win was sweet revenge after Kedriouky had beaten him in three sets at the Tashkent tournament last month. "I'm playing much better now and I hope to carry on like this in the final as well," Ogodorov promised.

Hared, on the other hand, was brilliant in patches as he snatched a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over seventh seed Kokurin.

Hared took the early initiative in the opening set with two breaks to lead 5-1. But Kokurin broke the Algerian in the next and then kept his serve to draw closer at 3-5. But that was all the seventh seed could muster as Hared took the set 6-3.

The second set turned out to be engrossing with both players breaking each other a couple of times to be tied 2-2. But Hared came up with a crucial break in the seventh game to take the lead 4-3 only to see his opponent from Uzbekistan return the compliment to draw even 4-4.

But the wily Hared broke Kokurin one last time and kept his serve to romp home 6-4 in 80 minutes.

The winner will receive a cheque for Dh28,000 from the total prizemoney of Dh74,000 being sponsored by Dubai Duty Free.

---