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NOTTINGHAM (England), June 24: Unseeded Ivo Karlovic beat eighth seed Arnaud Clement 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Nottingham Open on Saturday to earn the second title of his career.
The big-serving, 2.08 metres tall Croat wore down the Frenchman, who played twice on Friday, and sealed victory on his third match point when his backhand hit the net cord and sneaked over as a desperate Clement lunged towards it.
The win avenged Karlovic's quarter-final defeat at the hands of Clement at Queen's last week and concluded his Wimbledon preparations in style.
HENIN RETAINS CROWN
EASTBOURNE (England): Justine Henin avenged last year's Wimbledon final defeat when she beat Amelie Mauresmo to keep the Eastbourne International title on Saturday.
In a thrilling and closely fought final, the Belgian world number one defeated Mauresmo 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 on the Eastbourne grass.
The final between the top two seeds was an indicator of form for Wimbledon, which starts on Monday and which is the only Grand Slam title to elude Henin.
Both women came through the Eastbourne draw without dropping a set and only Henin's greater consistency allowed her to beat the French world No 4 in the final.
DEN BOSCH OPEN
AMSTERDAM: Russia's Anna Chakvetadze beat injury-hit top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia to win the women's title at the Den Bosch Open on Saturday, while Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic beat Dutchman Peter Wessels to win the men's.
Chakvetadze took the title 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 as Jankovic struggled with a hamstring injury and at times appeared visibly in pain in a final frequently interrupted by rain showers.
Second seed Ljubicic needed three sets and two tiebreaks to beat Wessels 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.
The Dutchman, ranked 488th in the world, had upset top seed Tommy Robredo of Spain in the quarter-finals and surprised again with a valiant fight against Ljubicic.—Reuters
