GERMANY'S Anke Huber came from a set and 3-0 down to retain her Leipzig title with a 5-7 6-3 6-1 victory over Iva Majoli of Croatia yesterday. Third seed Majoli looked to have the match sewn up until she appeared to be struggling with her movement which allowed Huber, spurred on by the German crowd, to take full advantage.
Tears were rolling down Majoli's cheeks at one point, but it was not clear if she had suffered an injury or was simply exhausted, as she was unable to reach some blistering passing shots from the fourth seed.
Majoli seemed to recover in the final set but by then Huber had too much momentum. The German said: "This is a great tournament. I'd love to came back next year."
Majoli, seeded third, looked to have the match sewn up until she began to suffer from cramp midway through the second set which allowed Huber to take full advantage.
Majoli said: "I couldn't feel my legs any more and didn't have energy left. I gave Anke the chance to come back but even an injury break wouldn't have helped."
French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov won his fourth title of the year when he beat Frenchinan Arnaud Boetsch 7-5 6-3 in the Lyon Grand Prix final.
The Russian second seed was always in command after coming back from 5-3 down in the first set when his service was broken in the third game.
"For me, after Roland Garros it's always a pleasure to play in France," said Kafelnikov, who has also won in Adelaide and Prague this year.
Meanwhile, world number two Michael Chang was comprehensively beaten in just 72 minutes 6-4 6-4 by American qualifier Jonathan Stark in the final of the Singapore Open.
Chang, chasing his 11th Asian title, simply could not cope with the fierce 131 m.p.h. serves of Stark who belied his 101 ranking to silence the 4,000 crowd.
Stark, in contrast, broke Chang's serve twice to capture the second title of his career. He wrapped up victory on his own serve with two straight aces from 30-30, giving him 15 aces for the match.
The continuous roars of "Come on, Michael" reverberating through the Singapore Indoor Stadium failed to inspire Chang, the only player to reach two Grand Slam finals this year - the Australian Open and the US Open.
It was 25 year old Stark's second win over Chang (24) in seven encounters.
