Mauresmo Pounds Russian Likhovtseva for WTA Montreal Title

Posted on August 9, 2004

No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo single-handedly fought back the Russian advance at the WTA stop in Montreal this week, Sunday pummeling Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-0 in 51 minutes for her third title of 2004.

In the semifinals Mauresmo turned back another Russian in Vera "Warren" Zvonareva, and in the second round Elena "Lena" Bovina.

Likhovtseva struggled Sunday after a draining three-set semifinal win over yet another Russian in Anastasia Myskina late Saturday night.

"I think she was tired from last night," said Mauresmo, who collected her second Montreal title after 2002. "There wasn't a lot of time for her to recover."

Likhovtseva held serve in her first service game for her lone breadstick of the match.

"Amelie played a great match," Likhovtseva said. "Last night was very tough on me."

Mauresmo now trails only Lindsay Davenport (five titles) and Justine Henin-Hardenne (four) in trophy-raising efforts on the year, and rises to a career-high No. 2 in the WTA Rankings.

In the Montreal doubles final, Japan's (5)Asagoe/Sugiyama thumped the South African/Thai tandem of (4)Huber/Tanasugarn 6-0, 6-3 for their first title as a team.

In the WTA Stockholm final, No. 3 seed Alicia Molik of Australia beat unseeded Tatiana Perebiynis 6-1, 6-1 for her first title of the year. Molik then made it a double with partner Austrian Barbara "Give a" Schett, beating the unseeded Swiss/German squad of Gagliardi/Groenefeld 6-3, 6-3 for their first title as a team.

WTA Preview: Sopot
Russian Anastasia Myskina takes to the red clay this week at Sopot, Poland in preparation for next week's play on hardcourt at the Athens Olympics, joined by seeds Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi, Dinara "Little Sis" Safina, Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues, Iveta Benesova, Flavia "Of the Day" Pennetta, Marta Marrero, and Klara "Kouky" Koukalova. First round matches of interest are: none. In last year's Sopot final, (3)Smashnova-Pistolesi thumped Kouky 6-2, 6-0. Former champs in the field are Smashnova-Pistolesi (2003) and Safina (2002).

On court Monday in Sopot are (WC)Domachowska vs. Martina "Nurse, I Need a" Sucha, Gubacsi vs. Jans, Cervanova vs. (4)Anabel "Funky Cold" Medina Garrigues, (4)Birnerova vs. Muller, Marrero vs. Castano, (3)Sfar vs. Bondarenko, Ondraskova vs. Cohen-Aloro, and Prusova vs. (7)Mamic.

WTA Preview: Vancouver
No. 56-ranked Marion Bartoli heads the low-as-you-can-go-and-still-be-a-tour-event Tier V field this week in Vancouver, joined by seeds Milagros Sequera, Aline Jidkova, Laura Granville, Melissa Irvin, Rita "Ain't It" Grande, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, and Lindsay Lee-Waters. On court today are Granville vs. Reeves in an all-"C" American match-up, An.Serra Zanetti vs. Sequera, Grande vs. Callens, Arvidsson vs. Voskoboeva, and Foretz vs. Hopkins. This is the first time for Vancouver hosting a WTA event after earlier this year being moved up from Challenger status.

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Andre Agassi ended a 16-month title drought in style Sunday at the Masters Series-Cincinnati, outworking in-form former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

The win came on the heels of another stunning display Saturday night, defeating defending champ Andy Roddick in three sets. In the quarterfinals Agassi beat Carlos Moya, totalling three wins over former No. 1s for the week.

"It's pretty amazing," Agassi said. "It's overwhelming. I have been having a bit of a struggle most of this year. There's no way to describe how it feels right now."

Hewitt felt pressured the whole match by the Agassi baseline assault, evident in a double fault on match point.

"I felt like I was playing catch-up the whole match," Hewitt said. "And you know how good Andre is when he's the frontrunner. He's built a career on doing that. It's disappointing straight after the match, but I was beaten by a class player. It's no disgrace losing to Andre Agassi."

Agassi's title drought extended over 17 tournaments, and he is the oldest player to win a title since a 37-years-old Jimmy Connors in 1989.

"I've really been doing a good job this week of any time I get a chance to take the offence, I've really been executing well," Agassi said. "And that makes a big difference against the top guys. Because if you're not taking it to them, they're taking it to you."

Agassi is the 11th player in the 106-year history of the tournament to win the Cincinnati title at least three times, also winning in 1995 and 1996. Mats Wilander won the title four times (1983-84, '86, '88) and Pete
Sampras three times (1992, '97, '99) in the Open Era.

In the doubles final, (3)Knowles/Nestor upset (1)Bjorkman/Woodbridge 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 for their third title of the year.

"I think if you look at our record this year we've gotten to the semifinals of almost every Masters Series and we've lost tough matches and also been pretty close in the Slams as well, but just haven't really won the big points and haven't gotten over the hump," Knowles said.

ATP Preview: Sopot
The mishmash of mostly-non-Olympic participants on the red clay this week in Sopot, Poland, are led by seeds Marat Safin, Nikolay Davydenko, David Ferrer, Igor Andreev, Spaniards Al Martin, Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal, Al Montanes, and Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu. First round matches of nominal interest are (1)Safin vs. Spaniard "Julio &" Galo Blanco, (5)A.Martin vs. Juan "The Tax Haven" Monaco, the Spaniard (3)Ferrer vs. countryman qualifier Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and (7)Montanes vs. Spanish veteran qualifier Felix Mantilla.

In last year's final, Guillermo Coria (currently injured) beat Ferrer. Jose Acasuso (2001) is the lone returning champ in the field.

On court Monday at Sopot are Garcia vs. (2)Davydenko, (WC)Urban vs. Rosset, (WC)Kubot vs. (4)Andreev, Juan "The Tax Haven" Monaco vs. A.Martin, Koubek vs. (8)Mathieu, Olivier "Mucus" Mutis vs. Ramirez Hidalgo, and Ulihrach vs. (Q)Vanek.

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NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Why is it all the young Russians peter out in finals if they have to play a three-setter the previous night, but old man Andre Agassi can outlast Andy Roddick in three sets late Saturday night, then come back Sunday and out-grind Lleyton Hewitt in three sets? "It's been a tough 24 hours, but my body held up great," said the 34-year-old Agassi...Canadian Daniel Nestor on having the grandstand court named after him at the MS-Canada and taking crap from other players: "It's definitely an honor. It was very exciting for me. But when it came to the ATP guys, they were a little bit sarcastic with it. But for me, it was, you know, an honor, something pretty exciting that I might achieve, to be recognized like that. Something I can always tell my kids."...The MS-Cincy title is Andre Agassi's 14th title since turning 30, placing him fifth in the Open Era for titles over the age of 30. The top five: Rod Laver (44), Ken Rosewall (29), Arthur Ashe (20), Jimmy Connors (15) and Agassi (14)...Andre Agassi on how it is more difficult to play Lleyton Hewitt than Andy Roddick, since the Aussie has more clubs in the bag: "Against Andy I had to do a few things exceptional. I had to really take care of my serve and make sure I executed my shots. But it was much more straightforward from the back of the court, because that's when it was more on my terms. You know, against a guy like Lleyton, he's going to get his racquet on a lot of serves, he's going to get a lot of balls back in play. If you play too aggressive, he uses your pace and counterpunches better than anybody. If you then lay off too much, he has the ability to step up. There's a lot more decision-making going on out there between the points." Hewitt is 3-1 versus Roddick and now 4-4 versus Agassi...Andre Agassi is now back in the Masters Cup race to finish in the Top 8 after the Cincy title...Andy Roddick says having Andre Agassi's former coach in Brad Gilbert does not help a whole lot in finding weaknesses or securing a win over the fellow former No. 1: "Well that would be great except that Andre doesn't have a whole lot of weaknesses, you know. Even Brad will tell you that. There's a difference between that and having a coach who used to coach a player who knows something about a weakness."