Chardy, Sweeting Advance to Finals

Unseeded Ryan Sweeting of the Bahamas continued his hard-hitting assault on the U.S. Open championship, as he overpowered sixth seed Sun-Yong Kim 6-4, 6-0 on Saturday afternoon.
"The first game in each set decided it," said Sweeting, 18. "I broke in his first service game each set, and it got me going."
Sweeting, equally effective on the forehand and backhand sides, was determined to seize the point from the beginning.
"I tried to get him off the court as soon as possible," said Sweeting, who will enter the University of Florida in January. "The longer the point goes on, the better he plays."

Wimbledon Jr. Champion Jeremy Chardy resembled Houdini as he deftly escaped from a 5-1 first set tiebreak deficit, winning six straight points to demoralize Columbian Santiago Giraldo 7-6 (5), 6-2. Chardy, seeded seventh, speaking through a interpreter, said that he wasn't really worried when he fell behind. "I felt I was the better player, so even if I lost that set, I thought I could win the match."

Giraldo was frequently off balance when Chardy got his wicked first serve in, and Chardy was able to raise his game when challenged by the fourth seed's deep ground strokes. With a decidedly less lethal serve, Giraldo struggled for free points and in the second set was unable to respond.

Chardy crushed Sweeting in the first round of the French Junior Championships this year in straight sets, but Sweeting is relishing a rematch, as his confidence is soaring with his results this week.