Daniilidou Beats Heat for WTA Seoul Win
Posted on October 2, 2006SEOUL, Korea -- In a tournament that saw half of its seeds ousted in the first round, it seemed fitting that the title would eventually go to an unseeded player. But throughout the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships week, Eleni Daniilidou certainly didn't play like a non-seed. Greece's best took out a trio of seeds, closing out the title run with a marathon 63 26 76(3) championship victory against Japan's Ai Sugiyama.
On a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon, Daniilidou continued to display the form that took her to upset wins over No.5 seed Vera Zvonareva and No.3 seed Marion Bartoli in the two rounds prior. She diffused the No.4-seeded Sugiyama's aggressive attacks throughout the opening set with deep topspin groundstrokes and a precise slice, but fell behind in the second set as her veteran opponent began painting the lines with her flat groundstrokes and finishing points off at the net.
After splitting those sets, the match moved into a deciding third, and things could not have become more heated. They stayed even throughout the set, reaching 2-all, 3-all and so on until they found themselves in an all-or-nothing tie-break. After inching up 3-2, Daniilidou began suffering the effects of the extreme heat and called for the trainer, but regrouped upon return, clinching the Tier IV title win after two hours, 38 minutes.
"It was a tough match," Daniilidou said. "I was not feeling my best on the court today, but a victory is a victory. Neither of us played our best. At the end, I was cramping; I am working on conditioning. I tried to play as aggressively as I could. She is a top player; I had to go for it. Thank God every ball was in."
"In the first set I did what I had to do, but she was hitting the ball deep and pushing me off the court," Sugiyama said. "The second set, I think she got a bit tired. I was moving her around more and taking the ball early. In the tie-break, I really couldn't do anything. It was a really tough situation. I am disappointed."
Daniilidou saved three match points trailing 5-4 in the third. She is the fifth player this season to come back from the brink of defeat en route to a title.
"I was very calm," said Daniilidou of that juncture. "I tried to take the situation as it came. I played the next two points perfectly. At 30-40, she missed a return but she played it aggressively, as she should have."
Daniilidou, 24, has now tasted victory in four of five career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles finals, winning titles at 2002 's-Hertogenbosch, 2003 Auckland, 2004 Auckland and now 2006 Seoul. She is a one-time runner-up, at Bahia four years ago, as well as a six-time semifinalist. The crafty Greek, who idolized and modeled her game after Argentine legend Gabriela Sabatini, is moving closer and closer to the form that once saw her rank among the world's Top 15.
"It is my first title this year, first title after a tough year on and off the court," added Daniilidou, who was bothered over the last year by a cyst on her finger, which was subsequently removed. "Hopefully I'll stay healthy. It's hard when you travel so much. It's not easy on the body. I need to get fitter and keep working.
"Winning this tournament is very special to me. It has been a great week. I really like playing here. I look forward to coming back next year."
Despite falling to 6-7 lifetime in Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles championship rounds, Sugiyama had a solid week, reaching her very first final of the season.
"I will try to think positively. The way I lost is especially hard but I must accept it and try not to make the same mistakes again. I'm a little down so it will be hard to be fresh for the next tournament, but I will try to prepare."
Before Daniilidou ousted the No.3, No.4 and No.5 seeds, the tournament was rocked by early departures of top two seeds Martina Hingis and Maria Kirilenko. Hingis, ranked No.8, the top seed and heavy favorite for the title, was bounced in the second round by Indian teen Sania Mirza, while Russia's Kirilenko, the No.2 seed, was dealt a marathon, three-hour-plus defeat in the first round by her countrywoman, Vera Dushevina.
"I had too strong of an opponent," said Hingis of Mirza. "Hopefully I'll come back next year and do better. I have good memories of playing in Asia. I made the finals in Tokyo seven times. But it was a long trip from India. I lacked energy."
Despite the early loss, Hingis stuck around through the weekend for autograph sessions and even leading a clinic for Korean junior players.
The top-seeded doubles team fared better. Latin duo Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez eased past the unseeded duo of Chuang Chia-Jung and Mariana Diaz-Oliva, 62 63, for their third title of the year (32nd of career), and second consecutive, after last week's Beijing run. It is Ruano's 37th career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles title and the 42nd for Suarez.
-- WTA
On a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon, Daniilidou continued to display the form that took her to upset wins over No.5 seed Vera Zvonareva and No.3 seed Marion Bartoli in the two rounds prior. She diffused the No.4-seeded Sugiyama's aggressive attacks throughout the opening set with deep topspin groundstrokes and a precise slice, but fell behind in the second set as her veteran opponent began painting the lines with her flat groundstrokes and finishing points off at the net.
After splitting those sets, the match moved into a deciding third, and things could not have become more heated. They stayed even throughout the set, reaching 2-all, 3-all and so on until they found themselves in an all-or-nothing tie-break. After inching up 3-2, Daniilidou began suffering the effects of the extreme heat and called for the trainer, but regrouped upon return, clinching the Tier IV title win after two hours, 38 minutes.
"It was a tough match," Daniilidou said. "I was not feeling my best on the court today, but a victory is a victory. Neither of us played our best. At the end, I was cramping; I am working on conditioning. I tried to play as aggressively as I could. She is a top player; I had to go for it. Thank God every ball was in."
"In the first set I did what I had to do, but she was hitting the ball deep and pushing me off the court," Sugiyama said. "The second set, I think she got a bit tired. I was moving her around more and taking the ball early. In the tie-break, I really couldn't do anything. It was a really tough situation. I am disappointed."
Daniilidou saved three match points trailing 5-4 in the third. She is the fifth player this season to come back from the brink of defeat en route to a title.
"I was very calm," said Daniilidou of that juncture. "I tried to take the situation as it came. I played the next two points perfectly. At 30-40, she missed a return but she played it aggressively, as she should have."
Daniilidou, 24, has now tasted victory in four of five career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles finals, winning titles at 2002 's-Hertogenbosch, 2003 Auckland, 2004 Auckland and now 2006 Seoul. She is a one-time runner-up, at Bahia four years ago, as well as a six-time semifinalist. The crafty Greek, who idolized and modeled her game after Argentine legend Gabriela Sabatini, is moving closer and closer to the form that once saw her rank among the world's Top 15.
"It is my first title this year, first title after a tough year on and off the court," added Daniilidou, who was bothered over the last year by a cyst on her finger, which was subsequently removed. "Hopefully I'll stay healthy. It's hard when you travel so much. It's not easy on the body. I need to get fitter and keep working.
"Winning this tournament is very special to me. It has been a great week. I really like playing here. I look forward to coming back next year."
Despite falling to 6-7 lifetime in Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles championship rounds, Sugiyama had a solid week, reaching her very first final of the season.
"I will try to think positively. The way I lost is especially hard but I must accept it and try not to make the same mistakes again. I'm a little down so it will be hard to be fresh for the next tournament, but I will try to prepare."
Before Daniilidou ousted the No.3, No.4 and No.5 seeds, the tournament was rocked by early departures of top two seeds Martina Hingis and Maria Kirilenko. Hingis, ranked No.8, the top seed and heavy favorite for the title, was bounced in the second round by Indian teen Sania Mirza, while Russia's Kirilenko, the No.2 seed, was dealt a marathon, three-hour-plus defeat in the first round by her countrywoman, Vera Dushevina.
"I had too strong of an opponent," said Hingis of Mirza. "Hopefully I'll come back next year and do better. I have good memories of playing in Asia. I made the finals in Tokyo seven times. But it was a long trip from India. I lacked energy."
Despite the early loss, Hingis stuck around through the weekend for autograph sessions and even leading a clinic for Korean junior players.
The top-seeded doubles team fared better. Latin duo Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez eased past the unseeded duo of Chuang Chia-Jung and Mariana Diaz-Oliva, 62 63, for their third title of the year (32nd of career), and second consecutive, after last week's Beijing run. It is Ruano's 37th career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles title and the 42nd for Suarez.
-- WTA