Tue, Mar 08, 2011 page19

• Dokic claims Malaysian Open title in close match

  • AFP, KUALA LUMPUR
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  Australia’s Jelena Dokic came from behind on Sunday to down Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in a thrilling three-set battle to capture the Malaysian Open title.

  Dokic, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, defeated world No. 35 Safarova 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 to take her first WTA title in eight years, pocketing US$37,000.

  Despite being ranked a lowly 91 in the world, the 27-year-old Australian was in tremendous form, hitting a series of accurate baseline shots to overcome the left-handed Czech player in 2 hours, 40 minutes.

  

  Jelena Dokic of Australia shouts with joy after securing a vital point against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic during the final of the WTA Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

  Photo: AFP

  There were long and exciting rallies on court, with Safarova fighting back with strong returns and powerful aces, but a calm Dokic managed to unnerve the 24-year-old fifth seed into making unforced errors.

  “I played for one point at a time. She [Safarova] made some unforced mistakes and I really exploited on it,” the Australian told reporters. “I am happy to be in the WTA final. It is a fantastic to win the title and the players I beat.”

  Dokic was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world back in 2002, but dropped out of the top 100 in 2006 as she struggled to cope with family-related problems.

  The Kuala Lumpur tournament has proved a milestone for Dokic, who started her run to the title by beating world No. 5 Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the first round.

  It was her first win over a top-five player since 2003, when she defeated then No. 1 Kim Clijsters in a tournament in Zurich.

  Dokic’s career highlights include reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2002 and the Australian Open in 2009.

  Before competing in Malaysia, she took part in the Qatar Open, where she was bundled out by compatriot Jarmila Groth in the second round.

  Meanwhile, Russian Dinara Safina and Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva won the Malaysian Open doubles title when they beat Thailand’s Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and Australia’s Jessica Moore.

  However, the former world No. 1 Safina and her partner Voskoboeva needed a super-tiebreaker to win the final 7-5, 2-6, 10-5.

  The Russian/Kazakh pair kept their cool and fired a series of accurate baseline shots to win after losing the second set, sealing victory when Voskoboeva served a brilliant ace.

  “We were both very motivated. We were very much relaxed and did not have much pressure,” Voskoboeva told reporters.

  MONTERREY OPEN

  AP, MONTERREY, MEXICO

  Second-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia defeated top-seeded Jelena Jankovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday to win her third WTA title and successfully defending the Monterrey Open championship she won a year ago.

  Jankovic was seeking her 13th WTA tournament title and got off to a good start, but the Serb had problems in the final set.

  Pavlyuchenkova broke Jan-kovic in the seventh game to lead 4-3. She then held serve and broke again in the final game — thanks partly to a double fault by Jankovic — to close out the match.

  Pavlyuchenkova has won both matches she’s played against Jankovic and is also 10-0 in the Monterrey tournament. The Russian has won all three of her WTA finals — two in Monterrey and one in Istanbul.
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