|
|
|
| June 17, 2002 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 5, 1423 |
Hewitt clinches third straight title
LONDON, June 16: Lleyton Hewitt won his third straight Stella Artois title on Sunday, out-gunning Tim Henman 4-6 6-1 6-4 to consign the Briton to his third runners-up trophy here.
The Australian top seed bounced back from a slow start on an overcast day to clinch victory and the $84,200 first prize.
“It’s a long way from Adelaide but it feels like home,” Hewitt said afterwards. “Not only is it great to win this title but it is great preparation for Wimbledon.”
Second seed Henman was not too disappointed before the grasscourt grand slam in eight days’ time. “I haven’t got much to say but you’ve got to hand it to Lleyton. That’s why he is number one in the world,” he said.
“I feel happy with my game, though. I think I have the tools to beat him.”
Kafelnikov wins in Halle: Russian top seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov won the Gerry Weber Open for the third time Sunday when he came from a set down to beat local favourite Nicolas Kiefer 2-6 6-4 6-4.
The former world number one, who before the event was struggling in 32nd place in the ATP Champions Race, claimed his first title of the year in front of 12,400 fans, with most spectators cheering on Kiefer.
Dokic triumphs: Top seed Jelena Dokic prepared for Wimbledon with her first WTA title on grass on Sunday, when she defeated Russia’s Anastasia Myskina 6-2 6-3 in the final of the DFS Classic at Edgbaston.
The 19-year-old, ranked eighth in the world, breezed through the 52-minute match to claim her fifth WTA title.
Dokic, who reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2000, was broken in the sixth game as she served for the set at 5-1 but she responded immediately to take the first set.
She held her nerve in the second set and took the match in the ninth game after recovering from 0-40 down.
Maiden title for Swiss girl: Top-seeded Swiss Marie-Gaianei Mikaelian clinched her maiden WTA title with a deserved 6-4 6-4 win over second seed Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus at the $140,000 Tashkent Open Sunday.
After breaking her opponent in the ninth game to take the first set, Mikaelian built a 4-0 lead in the second before allowing Poutchek to come back into the match by winning the next three games.
But the 18-year-old Swiss, who looked the fresher of the two on the scoring hard courts of the Uzbek capital, held on to seal the victory after one hour and 25 minutes.—Reuters
|
|
|
|
