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STUTTGART, Oct 21: Tommy Haas thrilled his home fans by stopping Max Mirnyi’s impressive run with a merciless 6-2 6-2 6-2 victory in a one-sided final at the Stuttgart Masters Series tournament Sunday.
Haas, the 15th seed, needed only 92 minutes to down the 24-year-old qualifier from Belarus, who ran out of steam after knocking out top seed Gustavo Kuerten, Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, Pete Sampras and Yevgeny Kafelnikov on his way to his first final at a major event.
It was the second straight title for Haas, who won in Vienna last Sunday, and the fifth of his career though it was his first in Germany.
By becoming the first German to win in Stuttgart since Boris Becker in 1996, the 23-year-old Haas moved up to seventh in the ATP Champions Race, boosting his chances of a berth in the season-ending Masters Cup next month in Sydney.
The top seven players in the Race standings will make the trip to Australia with Wimbledon champion Ivanisevic joining them as a Grand Slam winner.
Mirnyi, who had saved match points in three of his matches to become the first qualifier to reach the Stuttgart final, looked completely lost on the purple court of the Schleyer Halle.
Haas was 2-1 down in the first set when he found another gear, serving strongly and playing aggressively from the baseline to win the next five games.
An early break put him in control of the second set as Mirnyi struggled to recapture the powerful game which had helped him to stunning victories in the earlier rounds.
The issue was already beyond doubt when Hass managed his second break in the decisive set to move 5-3 up. He swiftly gained three match points, ending Mirnyi’s suffering with a backhand winner on the first.
Haas pocketed $434,000 for his efforts while Mirnyi, who has had a busy week, took $280,000 and then went to prepare for the doubles final, teaming up with Australian Sandon Stolle against South African Wayne Ferreira and American Jeff Tarango.
ZURICH: Third seed Lindsay Davenport swept past Yugoslav Jelena Dokic 6-3 6-1 on Sunday to win the Swisscom Challenge for a third time and take her sixth tournament title of the season.
The 25-year-old American has been almost unbeatable in Zurich throughout her career. She has reached the final four times in four visits, winning it on three occasions (1997, 1998 and 2001) while compiling a sparkling record of 15-1.
Switzerland has always proved a happy hunting ground for Davenport, who can also count two titles from nearby Lucerne on her resume. Her only career loss in the nation came last year when she was defeated in the Swisscom final by Martina Hingis.
Davenport, who advanced with a semifinal win over new world number one Jennifer Capriati, stamped her authority on the match and broke her 18-year-old opponent to go in front 4-3.
The three-time Grand Slam winner then showed her class as she swept the next seven games to take the set and a commanding 5-0 lead in the second before wrapping up the match in just 63 minutes.—Reuters
