TENNIS: Maria Sharapova claimed her fifth title of the year at the Linz Open yesterday when she beat defending champion and number-two seed Nadia Petrova 7-5 6-2 in an all-Russian final.
Sharapova added to her victories at the US Open, Indian Wells, San Diego and Zurich. By reaching the final, the 19-year-old will overtake Justine Henin-Hardenne as world number two when the rankings are announced today. Top-seeded Sharapova is also in contention, with the Belgian and Amelie Mauresmo of France, to finish the season at number one, a position she last held on October 23rd, 2005.
The match was by no means a classic. Petrova failed to repeat the commanding form she had shown in reaching the final for the loss of just nine games, and Sharapova rarely had to rise above the ordinary.
Sharapova made a perfect start, breaking to lead 1-0, but the next several games featured little drama as both held serve with little trouble. Petrova, playing with her right thigh strapped, failed to find the power on her serve that had made her such a force against other opponents, but she levelled at 4-4 with a backhand volley.
She went on to earn two set points on Sharapova's serve at 5-4 but her opponent held off the threat and broke for 6-5 when Petrova double-faulted. Petrova failed to convert two break points as Sharapova served for the set.
The world number five made a terrible start to the second set, surrendering her serve with a double-fault. Sharapova held on to her lead as she broke at 4-2 and served out to love for the title.
And in Basle, Switzerland, Roger Federer celebrated a first title in his home town yesterday after comfortably beating defending champion Fernando Gonzalez in the final of the Swiss Indoors tournament.
The runaway world number one wrapped up a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 win to complete an unlikely journey from Basle ball boy to tournament champion. "It's one of the most beautiful moments of my career and also one of the most important to me after Wimbledon," Federer told the crowd after clinching his fourth successive title and his 11th of the year. "It's just insane. I never dreamed as a ball boy I would one day be the champion here. It's also my one thousandth day as world number one, so it's a very fitting day for this to happen."
Federer took control of the first set when he broke Gonzalez with a backhand down the line in game six and then tore through the second set after taking a 4-0 lead with two further breaks.
To his credit Gonzalez showed more resistance than he did in Madrid as the match went into what proved to be the final set. The world number seven managed two break points on Federer's serve when 2-1 up but the nine-times grand slam champion saved both.
Federer continued to confound him, producing six break point chances of his own which Gonzalez did well to defend. Though unable to kill the match off at those points, Federer stepped up a gear in the subsequent tiebreak, earning a mini-break with a fierce return on the opening point before going on to win it 7-3.
