Mary Pierce closed on regaining her Top 10 status Sunday at the WTA sop in San Diego, pounding unseeded
Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-0, 6-3 for her first title of the year.
WTA officials say the Frenchwoman will rise to No. 11 Monday on the WTA Rankings, her highest ranking since April 2001.
"It's been over a year since I won a tournament," Pierce said. "I still had a lot of good tennis left in me and that's what keeps me motivated. It puts the word out that I've won a hardcourt title here in the U.S. Hopefully, I can keep it going."
Sugiyama lost the battle of 30-year-olds decisively, watching a seemingly-endless spray of winners from this year's French Open runner-up.
"She just played so great, so aggressively every point and it was tough because she was all over every ball," Sugiyama said.
In the doubles final, No. 3-seeded Spaniards Conchita Martinez and
Virginia Ruano Pascual came back from a set down to defeat No. 5 seeds
Daniela Hantuchova and Sugiyama 6-7(7), 6-1, 7-5 for their second title of the year.
