Vienna, June 15: Argentine sixth seed Paola Suarez ousted Croatian qualifier Karolina Sprem in three sets to win her third career title at the 170,000-dollar (145,200 Euro) WTA event here yesterday.
Under blazing sunshine the 26-year-old Suarez outlasted her 18-year-old opponent 7-6 (7/0), 2-6, 6-4 in two hours 16 minutes.
The Argentine, better known as a doubles specialist, was technically superior and able to cope with the heat than her inexperienced young opponent, ranked 97th in the world.

Sprem had claimed the head of Russian second seed Vera Zvonareva, en route to just her second career final.

Suarez, whose previous two titles were in Bogota in 1999 and 2001, takes home 27,000 dollars, with Sprem winning half that total.


Bureau Report