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| October 17, 2005 | Monday | Ramzan 12, 1426 |
Pierce, Andreev bag Kremlin Cup crowns
MOSCOW, Oct 16: France’s third seed Mary Pierce beat Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-4 6-3 on Sunday to win her second Kremlin Cup title. It was also the second title this year for the 30-year-old Frenchwoman after winning in San Diego in August.
In the men’s final, seventh seed and home favourite Igor Andreev overcame knee and back injuries to beat sixth-seeded German Nikolas Kiefer 5-7 7-6 6-2 for his maiden crown in Moscow.
The Russian was a set and 4-0 down before staging a stunning comeback to clinch his third title this year after wins in Valencia and Palermo.
Pierce raced to a 5-1 lead and held off Schiavone’s spirited fightback to take the first set, then secured a decisive break in the fifth game of the second set to clinch victory after 87 minutes.
Schiavone could not find the form with which she crushed three seeded players to reach the final without dropping a set.
After taking another medical break at 1-4 in the second, Andreev stormed back, winning the next four games to level at 4-4 before taking the tiebreak 7-3.
Vaidisova triumphs
BANGKOK: The Czech republic’s Nicole Vaidisova clinched her third consecutive title in three weeks, beating top seed Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-7 (7/5), 7-5 in the PTT Thailand Open final here on Sunday.
The 200,000-dollar tournament was Vaidisova’s fifth singles title and brings her winning streak to 15 matches.
In the first set, she held her service game easily at the start and broke the Russian’s two service games to lead 5-1, but missed three set points before taking the first set 6-1 in 22 minutes.
But Petrova, 23, powered back in the second set, taking it to a tie break which she won 7-6 (7/5).
In the third set, Vaidisova’s powerful shots brought her victory on the first match point, wrapping up the match in one hour, 54 minutes.
Ljubicic wins
VIENNA: Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia won the Vienna ATP tournament here on Sunday defeating Juan-Carlos Ferrero of Spain 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) in the final.
It was a second triumph in the space of two weeks for the Davis Cup star following his win in Metz, France last Sunday.
Stockholm title for Blake
STOCKHOLM: James Blake won his second title this season with a defeat of 2002 champion Paradorn Srichaphan 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the 680,250-euro Stockholm Open to stretch a late-season surge of form.
Blake, 25 and ranked 33rd, became the second American titleholder at the Kungligahallen in the past three editions and the third in a row from his county to contest for the Swedish honour.—Agencies
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