Los Angeles, Aug 03: Seventh-seed Wayne Ferreira continued his mastery over Mark Philippoussis, beating the Australian 6-4, 7-5 to reach the final of the $380,000 Mercedes Cup ATP event yesterday. Ferreira's superb service returns frustrated Philippoussis, who likes to overpower his opponents with his booming serve and steady baseline shots.
The 31-year-old South African now holds a 6-2 career edge over Philippoussis since they met for the first time in 1995 in Florida.
Ferreira advanced to the final where he will face Australian top seed Lleyton Hewitt, who beat German Nicolas Kiefer in the other semi-final 6-2, 6-4. Ferreira moved well on the court despite playing with a nagging groin injury that almost ended his season early. It caused him to go down at the French Open last month during a third round game against Rainer Schuettler and he had to be carried off the court in a stretcher. Bureau Report