Elena Dementieva of Russia came from a set down to defeat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 to win the Paris Indoor Open on Sunday.
The Czech broke Dementieva’s opening service game but the top seed broke back. It was Safarova who showed the cooler nerve in the tiebreak, taking it 7-5.
Dementieva came back powerfully in the second set, though, twice breaking serve.
The Russian cranked up the pressure in the seventh game to break for a 4-3 lead.
Safarova saved two championship points in her next service game and a third on Dementieva’s serve. But the Russian made no mistake with her fourth.
■ABN AMRO TOURNAMENT
REUTERS, ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Swedish third seed Robin Soderling clinched the ABN AMRO World Indoor Tournament title when Mikhail Youzhny withdrew injured in the final on Sunday.
Youzhny had complained about a slight leg injury after his win over Novak Djokovic in the semis. However, the Russian began the final by breaking Soderling’s service game.
The Swede recovered immediately, breaking Youzhny twice to take the first set 6-4 and after an early break in the second left him 2-0 down the Russian gave up.
■SAP OPEN
REUTERS , SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
Fernando Verdasco upset top seed Andy Roddick 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win the SAP Open on Sunday.
Roddick started well, breaking his Spanish opponent twice to win the first set.
But after being broken early in the second, Roddick received a code violation for belting a ball way up into the stands when he missed a passing shot.
He fought off two set points at 5-4, but second seed Verdasco sealed the second set with an ace.
The two went it at tooth and nail in the third set, but the Spaniard broke to lead 5-4 and served out the match with another ace.
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As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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