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| October 16, 2006 | Monday | Ramazan 22, 1427 |
Newcomer King bags first title in Bangkok
BANGKOK, Oct 15: American newcomer Vania King battled past home favourite Tamarine Tanasugarn 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win her first professional title at the Bangkok Open on Sunday.
In a match lasting over 2-1/2 hours, the 17-year-old recovered from a set down to deny the Thai her first title in over three years.
Tamarine looked on course to become the first Thai in over a decade to win a tournament on home soil when she went 4-2 up in the final set.
But King, who turned professional only three months ago, pulled off some of the best shots she has played at the tournament to secure her maiden title.
KREMLIN CUP
MOSCOW: Top seed Nikolay Davydenko beat Russian compatriot and two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin on Sunday to take the Kremlin Cup title.
With the 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win Davydenko clinched his ninth career title and fourth of the season while also levelling his head-to-head record with Safin at two wins all.
The 25-year-old Monte Carlo resident was slightly more accurate from the outset, breaking the former world number one's serve halfway into the opening set.
Safin, whose last final appearance was in Halle in June 2005 before a knee injury sent his career into a tailspin, broke back immediately to level at three games all.
But Davydenko, 2004 champion here, broke again to take the opening set in 41 minute.
No big serves were produced in the second set until the 12th game, when Safin broke to level at one set all after one hour 31 minutes on court.
Davydenko, currently fifth in the ATP race, broke twice from the start in the deciding set to a comfortable 3-0 lead before Safin chalked up his frst point in the set also with a break.
However, Davydenko managed to keep his advantage through to win the set and the match in two hours 19 minutes.
The winner received a silver trophy by Cartier and $142,000, while Safin pocketed $83,600.
Earlier on Sunday the 19-year-old Muscovite Anna Chakvetadze won the WTA Kremlin Cup title beating fifth seeded compatriot Nadia Petrova in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
Chakvetadze took one hour and 30 minutes to claim her second career title after winning at Guanngzhou two weeks ago to record her third win over Petrova in as many meetings.
Chakvetadze received $196,900 and a silver trophy with runner-up Petrova pocketing a $105,800 purse.—Agencies
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