Tennis: Rusedski's Swiss miss

Tennis

Rusedski's Swiss miss

Greg Rusedski's 6-4 6-4 defeat by the world No 9 Jim Courier in the semi- final of the Swiss Indoor tournament was an accurate reflection of the two players' present form, writes Chris Bowers from Basle. Leaving aside Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round, and the Davis Cup, in which he beat two rank outsiders, Rusedski has had a miserable time since announcing his decision to play for Great Britain in mid-May, and he came to Basle having not won two matches back-to-back since June. His three wins here represent a vast improvement and will take him back into the world's top 50, but his form was not quite enough to beat Courier. In this afternoon's final, Courier plays the Dutchman Jan Siemerink, who reached the final without hitting a ball as the top seed, Boris Becker, withdrew with a re-aggravation of the back injury that dogged him at last weekend's Davis Cup semi-final.

Rusedski: Returns to top 50