American ace Jennifer Capriati came from a set down to win the Hong Kong Ladies Challenge today, finally overcoming Russian Elena Dementieva after a titanic struggle.
The 20-year-old Muscovite dominated for much of the match, and at one stage threatened to inflict an embarassingly one-sided defeat on the reigning Australian and French Open champion, before Capriati dug deep to pull out a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.
A revitalised Capriati, playing her first tournament after a winter break, had looked in vintage form all week as she confidently swept aside the challenges of rising Indonesian star Angelique Widjaja and South African veteran Amanda Coetzer en route to the final.
However, the powerful Dementieva, who reached the final after Mary Pierce retired with a hamstring injury on Friday, had been expected to provide the world No. 2 with her stiffest test yet - and so it proved.
A stunned centre court at Victoria Park watched in amazement as the Russian, who took the silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, gave the muscular Capriati a dose of her own medicine, unleashing a string of spectacular forehand winners to leave the American a virtual spectator in the first set.
After exchanging early breaks, Dementieva cut loose with another thumping forehand to break for a 3-1 lead. A fifth double fault from a strangely lethargic Capriati gave the Russian a 5-1 lead and she served out convincingly to take the set 6-1.
Capriati dug into her reserves to haul back the rampant Dementieva and bravely rescued the second set after falling a break behind.
Although she could not stop the stream of winners flowing from Dementieva's racket, Capriati bravely broke the Russian in the sixth game of a thrilling final set to stay level and again in the eighth game after the Russian had broken for a 4-3 lead with a blistering forehand.
The American took the lead for the first time in the match when she held serve for 5-4 and took the title for the second time in three years when the Russian double-faulted for the ninth time on match point.
"You don't want to win on a double fault but I was a little relieved I didn't have to play the last point," she said with a smile.
Capriati's win continues a love affair with this eight-player knock-out exhibition tournament that dates back to her victory over Martina Hingis in the 2000 final.
That victory sparked a stunning revival in form that saw her resurrect her troubled career to briefly become only the ninth woman to hold the No. 1 ranking on October 15 last year since computer rankings were introduced in 1975.
Capriati's form clearly outlines her as one of the favourites for the Australian Open, but she stressed that continued work on her fitness would be paramount in her preparation for the defence of her crown.
"We'll see how I fare in a real tournament next week. There's a little less pressure here so it's a little bit different."
Capriati will next join defending champion Hingis at the Sydney International ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
AFP