LONDON — Top seed Roger Federer beat Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro 3-6, 7-6, 19-17 yesterday to enter the Olympics men's tennis final, while Russia's Maria Sharapova advanced to the women's final. Federer, who returned to Wimbledon's centre court just a month after taking the Wimbledon title, won after a marathon third set which lasted 163 minutes.
The 30-year-old Swiss, a doubles gold medallist in Beijing, will face fourth seed Andy Murray, who defeated world No 2 Serbian Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-5. Federer has 17 Grand Slam singles titles, but has never won an Olympic medal in the singles. Third seed Sharapova, who won the French Open in June and is competing at her first Olympics, beat her compatriot Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-3 to reach the women's singles final.
In the final she will meet reigning Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, who scored a convincing 6-1, 6-2 over Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the other semifinal. Williams needed just 26 minutes in the first set and 37 in the second to beat the top-seeded Azarenka. — DPA
