Huey, partner reach Weber doubles finals

TREAT Huey and partner Scott Lipsky of the United States outlasted Michael Kohlmann and Florian Mayer of Germany, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, Saturday night to reach the men’s doubles finals of the Gerry Weber Open tennis championships in Halle, Germany.

The 26-year-old Huey, looking for his first title this year and improve his 39th ranking in the world, worked seamlessly with Lipsky in downing the hometown bets who got a free ride to the semifinals after Rafael Nadal and Marcelo Granollers withdrew before their quarterfinal match.

Nadal opted to focus his attention in the singles where he lost in a shocking defeat to defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals just a few days after after capturing his record seventh French Open singles crown.

Huey and Lipsky earlier bundled out second seeds Franticek Cermak of Czech Republic and Julian Knowle of Austria, 6-3, 5-7, 10-6, to enter the semis Friday.

In the finals, Huey and Lipsky will face top seeds Aisam Qureshi of Pakistan and Jean Julien Rojer of Netherlands who pulled off an easy 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.

Qureshi, who skipped the Davis Cup matchup against the Philippines in the last two ties, won the doubles titles last year in tandem with Indian Rohan Bopanna.

But Huey and Lipsky proved to be a well-oiled machine, firing a total of 10 aces against Kohlman and Mayer. Marc Anthony Reyes