Predicting a winner for the French Open, which starts later this month, appears even harder after Amelie Mauresmo's thrilling three-set victory over Jennifer Capriati in the final of Sunday's Rome Masters.
In the absences of world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne and defending champion Kim Clijsters, many had expected the tournament in the Italian capital to be a low-key affair.
PHOTO: AP
Had she been watching Sunday's match, however, reigning French Open champion Henin-Hardenne might have been forgiven for feeling that her crown sat a little uneasily on her head.
The level of tennis in the two-and-a-half hour final -- the longest in the 74-year history of the tournament -- was consistently high, with second seed Mauresmo finally triumphing 3-6 6-3 7-6.
"The energy was unbelievable from the first game. It was so close. When you get to 6-6 in a third set tiebreak, all you can do is hang in there and see what happens," Mauresmo said.
Now, having won consecutive titles, the Frenchwoman can justly claim to be the most in-form player on the tour and ready to overturn a disappointing record at Roland Garros, where she has never gone beyond the last eight.
She also became only the third player after Monica Seles and Steffi Graf to win back-to-back titles in Berlin and Rome. Both went on to triumph at Roland Garros.
Capriati, too, has enjoyed a memorable week in the Italian capital where she ended an eight-match losing streak against Serena Williams on Saturday.
The former world number one said she was satisfied with her shape ahead of Roland Garros.
Meanwhile, all the French Open hopefuls know they must contend with Serena Williams who, following her semi-final exit, insisted she felt confident for Paris.
Asked whether she still considered herself to be the number one player in the world, she replied: "Sure. That's very important.
"Even five years ago, when I was nowhere near, I believed I was going to get there. The day you stop believing in yourself is the day you stop."
Hamburg Masters
World No. 1 Roger Federer handed defending champion Guillermo Coria a first clay court defeat in almost a year on Sunday, prevailing in four sets 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to win the Hamburg Masters Series for the second time.
Federer, 22, overcame a sluggish start for a convincing victory in the final of the two top seeds which lasted 2 hours 22 minutes under sunny German skies.
The Swiss Federer picked up 396,000 euros (US$437,000) for the second Hamburg title of his career -- the first came in 2002 -- and 15th overall. He now has four titles this year, the others being the Australian Open, Indian Wells Masters Series and Dubai.
Federer stretched his lead at the top of the year-long points race with 486 points. Spain's Carlos Moya is second with 334 points and Coria improved from fourth to third with 306 points.
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