Linz, Oct 27: Japan's Ai Sugiyama has beaten Nadia Petrova of Russia to win the WTA tournament in Linz, Austria.
Second seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan defeated a nervous Nadia Petrova 7-5 6-4 to win the final of the $585,000 Linz tournament on Sunday (October 26). Sugiyama, 28, dominated her Russian opponent from the start, pressurising the fourth seed into making repeated errors. The 21-year-old Russian briefly rallied to level the score after trailing 5-3 in the first set but Sugiyama then won four games in a row to snatch the first set and take a decisive lead in the second. It was Sugiyama's fifth career title and her second this year after beating Belgian Kim Clijsters in Scottsdale in March. It also kept alive her hopes of qualifying for the end-of-season Tour Championships in Los Angeles starting on November 3.


Final result in the $585,000 WTA Tour Generali Ladies tournament: 2-Ai Sugiyama (Japan) beat 4-Nadia Petrova (Russia) 7-5 6-4


Bureau Report