Venus Gains Roland Garros Confidence with WTA Istanbul Win

"Of course, I was a little tired," Mayer said of his double-breadsticking. "But I played one of the best claycourt players at the moment. Maybe I deserved a few games more, and it's frustrating to lose one and one."

Haas followed his singles heroics by teaming with Alexander Waske for the clinching doubles point, rolling over Coria and Guillermo Canas 6-1, 6-2.

"We had nothing to lose playing against Argentina, the best claycourters in the world," Haas said. "The guys who were playing the singles against us today were in the French Open final last year and I was really happy the way I played my singles."

The win added to previous German titles in 1998, '94 and '89.

Davydenko Continues Streak with ATP St. Poelten Title

Russian Nikolay Davydenko will go into the French Open tired, but at least with a title under his belt.

On Saturday the top-seeded Davydenko outlasted homecountry favorite and No. 4 seed Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 for his first title on the year despite complaining of elbow pain.

Davydenko led 3-0 in the third before Melzer evened it at 3-3, then the Russian broke at 5-4 for the win.

"I am feeling great at the moment and my confidence level is good which is the most important thing," Davydenko said. "Before Roland Garros this is great for the confidence although it is a little bit hard physically."

Davydenko also reached semifinals during his French run-up at Barcelona (l. to Ferrero) and Hamburg (l. to Federer). Melzer is now 0-2 in career finals.

"I am of course disappointed, it is never easy to lose in a final 6-4 in the third," Melzer said. "I think I played a great match and Nikolay was just the most active player at the end and that was what made the difference in the match today."

In the doubles final No. 2 seeds Lucas Arnold and Paul Hanley, playing together for the first time, defeated No. 3 seeds Mariano Hood and Martin Damm 6-3, 6-4.

"I am very happy about this triumph and even happier because my little son Nacho has been here with me this week," said Arnold, not hesitating to tell people he named his son Nacho. "I don't know if we will play together in the near future but it was a really good week for us."

Medina Garrigues Wins WTA Strasbourg Title

Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues won her third career singles title Saturday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Polish teen Marta Domachowska in the final of the WTA stop in Strasbourg.

"The start of this year was very difficult for me because I had a lot of difficult draws and first round losses," said Medina Garrigues, who had previously failed to reach a quarterfinal in 2005. "But now I have a title, so I'm very happy. This is my favorite surface so I feel good here."

The teenage Domachowska said she had insufficient practice entering the week, studying for her high school diploma.

"I had my chances but I didn't take them," Domachowska said. "Anabel dictated play today. My serve was not working either so it was frustrating for me."

Domachowska also lost in the doubles final, coming up short with partner Marlene Weingartner 6-3, 6-1 to the Spanish/Romanian team of Rosa Maria Andres and Andreea Vanc.

Venus Wins WTA Istanbul Title for Roland Garros Momentum

Top-seeded Venus Williams eased past Czech Nicole Vaidisova 6-3 6-2 on Saturday to win the inaugural WTA Istanbul Cup, gaining some much-needed confidence for Roland Garros.

"It's good to play against such a strong player before Roland Garros," Williams said. "I'm very excited about winning the title. It is my first time here."

The 16-year-old Vaidisova went down 0-4 in the first set and never recovered.

"Venus was just too good today," said the 39th-ranked Vaidisova. "I was making lots of mistakes, but that was largely because I was forced into shots I don't normally have to make. It's been a good week for me. Of course I'm disappointed to lose today, but it's my first claycourt final and I'm glad that I'm improving on this surface."

It was Williams' first title since Warsaw, Poland, in May 2004.

In the doubles final the No. 4-seeded Spanish/Italian team of Marta Marrero and Antonella Serra Zanetti defeated unseeded Austrian sisters Daniela and Sandra Klemenschits 6-4, 6-0 for their first title as a team.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
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