Myskina v Zheng in Stockholm Final
Posted on August 13, 2006STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN -- Anastasia Myskina will try to grow her Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title tally from 10 to 11 and cut her ranking from No.11 to No.10, as she takes on Chinese star Zheng Jie in the championship final of the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Stockholm Sunday.
Myskina and Zheng won straight set semifinals Saturday afternoon. Myskina, seeded first at the Tier IV event, withstood the power game of No.4-seeded Swede Sofia Arvidsson in the first match of the day to win, 62 64, before the No.3-seeded Zheng won her 200th career singles match against Bulgarian phenom Tsvetana Pironkova, 62 76(5). Neither the Russian nor the Chinese has dropped a set through four rounds. Myskina seeks her 11th career title (and first of the year), while Zheng eyes her third career title (and second of the year, having won in Estoril).
The finalists have met twice previously, both meetings coincidentally taking place during the Middle Eastern hardcourt swing. Myskina has prevailed both times, winning 62 75 in the quarterfinals of Doha in 2004 (en route to the title) and 63 67(7) 61 in the opening round of Dubai earlier this year. In the Dubai encounter, Zheng was just two points away from a straight set loss at 7-all in the second set tie-break before forcing a deciding third.
Both finalists are on the verge of meaningful ranking moves. Myskina is just one win away from a Top 10 return; with a title, she would displace Lindsay Davenport at No.10. Myskina first entered the Top 10 on February 17, 2003, and spent 113 of the next 123 weeks among that elite. Since dropping out on August 1, 2005, she has hovered between No.11 and No.14; now, she has a strong chance to return. And Zheng is projected to make her Top 30 debut on Monday, becoming the second Chinese player in Tour history to crack that group; Li Na, who is on the verge of a Top 20 debut, cracked the Top 30 earlier this year during the grass court season. This would mark the first time that two Chinese women feature in the Top 30.
After the singles final, the doubles final will take the court, pitting top-seeded Chinese duo Yan Zi and Zheng against unseeded Eva Birnerova and Jarmila Gajdosova. Yan and Zheng have been the breakout doubles stars this season, becoming China's first major titlists at the Australian Open and more recently winning 24 of their last 25 matches, capturing Tour titles at Berlin, Rabat, 's-Hertogenbosch, their second major at Wimbledon and making this week's run. Birnerova has played one Tour final before, in doubles, finishing runner-up at this event last year with Mara Santangelo; Gajdosova is in her first Tour final.
Zheng has the opportunity to become just the third player this year to win both singles and doubles titles at a Tour event, after Anna-Lena Groenefeld did so in Acapulco and Shahar Peer achieved the feat in Prague. The Chinese has done this once before, at Hobart last year, capturing the doubles title with Yan.
-- WTA
Myskina and Zheng won straight set semifinals Saturday afternoon. Myskina, seeded first at the Tier IV event, withstood the power game of No.4-seeded Swede Sofia Arvidsson in the first match of the day to win, 62 64, before the No.3-seeded Zheng won her 200th career singles match against Bulgarian phenom Tsvetana Pironkova, 62 76(5). Neither the Russian nor the Chinese has dropped a set through four rounds. Myskina seeks her 11th career title (and first of the year), while Zheng eyes her third career title (and second of the year, having won in Estoril).
The finalists have met twice previously, both meetings coincidentally taking place during the Middle Eastern hardcourt swing. Myskina has prevailed both times, winning 62 75 in the quarterfinals of Doha in 2004 (en route to the title) and 63 67(7) 61 in the opening round of Dubai earlier this year. In the Dubai encounter, Zheng was just two points away from a straight set loss at 7-all in the second set tie-break before forcing a deciding third.
Both finalists are on the verge of meaningful ranking moves. Myskina is just one win away from a Top 10 return; with a title, she would displace Lindsay Davenport at No.10. Myskina first entered the Top 10 on February 17, 2003, and spent 113 of the next 123 weeks among that elite. Since dropping out on August 1, 2005, she has hovered between No.11 and No.14; now, she has a strong chance to return. And Zheng is projected to make her Top 30 debut on Monday, becoming the second Chinese player in Tour history to crack that group; Li Na, who is on the verge of a Top 20 debut, cracked the Top 30 earlier this year during the grass court season. This would mark the first time that two Chinese women feature in the Top 30.
After the singles final, the doubles final will take the court, pitting top-seeded Chinese duo Yan Zi and Zheng against unseeded Eva Birnerova and Jarmila Gajdosova. Yan and Zheng have been the breakout doubles stars this season, becoming China's first major titlists at the Australian Open and more recently winning 24 of their last 25 matches, capturing Tour titles at Berlin, Rabat, 's-Hertogenbosch, their second major at Wimbledon and making this week's run. Birnerova has played one Tour final before, in doubles, finishing runner-up at this event last year with Mara Santangelo; Gajdosova is in her first Tour final.
Zheng has the opportunity to become just the third player this year to win both singles and doubles titles at a Tour event, after Anna-Lena Groenefeld did so in Acapulco and Shahar Peer achieved the feat in Prague. The Chinese has done this once before, at Hobart last year, capturing the doubles title with Yan.
-- WTA