Becker reaches first ATP final
Becker reaches first ATP final 
From correspondents in Bangkok, Thailand
Former Australian Captain September 30, 2007
BENJAMIN Becker will play the first ATP Tour final of his career, the Thailand Open title match against Dmitry Tursunov, after shocking Tomas Berdych in bangkok overnight.
The world No.79 from German dominated the final set and a half against the No.3 seed from the Czech Republic to win 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Berdych took two bouts of on-court treatment over the course of the last three games, for his back and his left knee.
Tursunov, the No.6 seed from Russia, had earlier managed his nerves before nailing a 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4 win against No.8 seed Fernando Verdasco from Spain.
“I got tense in the third set,” said Tursunov, who went up two breaks in the final set, but then lost one before icing the victory after nearly 2Ѕ hours with a backhand winner down the line on his third match point.
“We were not playing very clean tennis the entire match and there were a lot of mistakes on return.
“His forehand is a huge weapon and he will punish you. When he gets desperate, he starts going for huge shots. It’s like the snowball effect.”
Becker, who made his name as the man who sent Andre Agassi into retirement at the 2006 US Open, was shocked at his comeback against Berdych, for whom the loss may have killed his chance of a place in the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai in two months time.
“I’m surprised to be here in a final,” said Becker, who has played four semi-finals in the past 12 months, including one in Tokyo a year ago against Roger Federer.
“It will be a tough match against Dmitry. I’ll try not to think of the occasion. It feels very good to get this far… I’ll be going for the title.”
The German, 26, said he had taken more than a set to get adjusted to Berdych after losing the three previous match-ups between the pair.
“He was too good in the first set, hitting deep and playing too well,” Becker said of the Czech.
“But I started taking balls early and trying to play more aggressive.
“I could see that it was working. I didn’t feel as fast as I did in other matches. Maybe I’m a bit tired.”
Berdych, who played Davis Cup last weekend, said he felt the accumulation of matches.
“It was fine at the start for me, I was playing well,” he said.
“But after losing my chances in the second set, he started getting better and better.
“He deserved to win.
“I’ll try to get 100 per cent for Tokyo (next week), but then I need some rest.”
Agence France-Presse