Guillermo Canas won his third title of the year yesterday with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over unseeded German Lars Burgsmuller at the ATP Shanghai Open.
Burgsmuller held service in the first game, but fell in the next 11 as the Argentine wrapped up proceedings on the hardcourt at the Xian Xia Tennis Center in just 58 minutes.
"Right from the beginning I felt very confident. I knew he would go to the net," said Canas, already a winner this year at Stuttgart and Umag in Croatia.
Burgsmuller started out strong, and had a break point in the fourth game that he failed to convert.
Switching from serve and volley to baseline play, he continued to make unforced error after error and never seriously threatened in the second set.
Guangzhou Open
Li Na became the first Chinese to win a WTA singles title yesterday by cruising to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Slovakia's Martina Sucha at the Guangzhou Open.
The 22-year-old Li, who entered the tournament in south China as a qualifier, has been in fine form all year, winning her first 28 matches of the year on the International Tennis Federation Women's Circuit.
Korea Open
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova of Russia easily outclassed Poland's Marta Domachowska 6-1, 6-1 yesterday to claim the inaugural event.
Top-seeded Sharapova punished Domachowska with a barrage of powerful strokes to take her fifth career singles title in less than an hour at Seoul's Olympic Park.
Sharapova, 17, gave away just 15 games throughout the tournament en route to the title.
Gaz de France
Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters' comeback from injury stalled Saturday when she withdrew from the Gaz de France Stars with pain in her left wrist midway through a semifinal match against Elena Bovina of Russia.
Dementieva, ranked No. 6 in the world, beat unseeded Maria Elena Camerin of Italy 6-3, 6-3.
Campionati
Fifth-seeded Filippo Volandri of Italy earned his fourth career ATP final after beating unseeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-1, 6-4 Saturday in the semifinals of the Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia.
Volandri, who had stunned Olympic champion and defending champion Nicolas Massu of Chile in the previous round, set up a showdown with No. 8 Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who downed David Ferrer of Spain 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Volandri is Italy's No. 1 player.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
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Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
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