that’s a wrap! week of September 16th
Guangzhou International Women’s Open
Women’s Singles – Su-wei Hsieh d. Laura Robson 63 57 64
Su-wei Hsieh won her second title of the year over first-time finalist Laura Robson in Guangzhou on Saturday, having also triumphed in Kuala Lumpur earlier this season (d. Martic).
“I’m very happy to play so well in singles this season,” Hsieh said. ”Laura’s a great player and has been improving a lot this year, but I don’t think she felt comfortable with my game. Some people say I don’t often hit the ball with a lot of power, that I used the opponent’s power against them and put the ball in unexpected places.”
In a match that featured many momentum shifts and lead changes, it appeared that Hsieh was headed for easy victory when she built a 63 53 lead. In that game, Hsieh held five match points, but Robson managed to fight them all off. The Brit then won seven games in a row to build a 30* final set lead, but Hsieh managed to reel off six of the final seven games for the win.
The doubles final saw No.3 seeds Tamarine Tanasugarn and Zhang Shuai beat No.1 seeds Jarmila Gajdosova and Monica Niculescu, 26 62 [10-8].
KDB Korea Open
Women’s Singles – (1) Caroline Wozniacki d. (3) Kaia Kanepi 61 60
Caroline Wozniacki won her first title of 2012 in Seoul on Sunday, having previously finished runner-up in Copenhagen in June (l. to Kerber). Kanepi was looking to win her third title of the year, after triumphing in Brisbane (d. Hantuchova) and Estoril (d. Suarez Navarro).
“Yesterday was a very difficult match, but the final is the final, and you just do anything you can to win,” Wozniacki said. “Today I did well at turning defense to offense and offense to defense. That’s actually a strength of mine. I’m very pleased with how everything turned out.”
Both players were pushed to three sets in their semifinal matches, but Wozniacki was clearly the fresher of the two players in the final. Kanepi, who had not played an event since Roland Garros, was erratic for the entire match and Wozniacki afforded her no opportunities other than a service hold in the fifth game of the match. Wozniacki claimed her first title since New Haven in 2011, and improved to 19-11 in career finals. Kanepi fell to 3-4 in WTA finals.
Top seeded Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears won the doubles title, taking out unseeded Akgul Amanmuradova and Vania King 26 62 [10-8].
Moselle Open
Men’s Singles – (1) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. (5) Andreas Seppi 61 62
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga successfully defended his title in Metz on Sunday for his second title of 2012, easily dismantling Andreas Seppi in straight sets. In 2011, Tsonga defeated the now-retired Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets. In January, Tsonga also triumphed in Doha (d. Monfils).
“I had a complete match with no gaps, as opposed to yesterday,” said Tsonga. ”Of course, it’s a lot easier when I can make a difference in two or three shots. If I had to define this week, I would simply say it was a perfect one.”
The Frenchman dominated in all areas, as he dropped only six points on serve in the match and did not face a break point. He broke the Italian’s serve four times in the match to coast to victory in 50 minutes. Tsonga improved to 9-5 in ATP World Tour finals. Seppi was contesting his third final of 2012, and he dropped to 2-3 in career ATP finals.
French second seeds Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin won their third ATP World Tour team title on Sunday as they defeated fourth seeds Johan Brunstrom and Frederik Nielsen 76(3) 64.
Saint Petersburg Open
Men’s Singles – (3) Martin Klizan d. (4) Fabio Fognini 62 63
Fresh off a run to the fourth round of the US Open, Martin Klizan took home his first ATP title in St. Petersburg on Sunday but defeating Fabio Fognini in straight sets. He is the first Slovakian to win a tour title since Dominik Hrbaty triumphed at Marseille in February 2004.
“I said last year that I would like to be Top 100 by the end of this year and I’ve already done it,” said Klizan. ”Now I’ve been Top 50, Top 40, maybe I can be Top 30 at the end of the year. I hope I can be healthy and still with enough power to play until the end of the season. I’ve played many, many great weeks.”
Klizan, who defeated top-seeded Mikhail Youzhny in a marathon 3:48 minute 67(11) 64 76(3) semifinal, showed no ill effects as he got out to an early lead. The Slovak did not face a break point in the opening set and dropped only five points on serve. The second set was a back-and-forth affair, as both men traded breaks twice. Klizan managed to break serve four times total in the second set to seal his first title. Fognini, who also finished runner-up to Gilles Simon in Bucharest, dropped to 0-2 in ATP finals.
Top seeds Rajeev Ram and Nenad Zimonjic capped their debut tournament together as they defeated Slovakians Lukas Lacko and Igor Zelenay 62 46 [10-6].
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