Bondarenko Keeps Schiavone Winless
Posted on October 2, 2006LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg -- Despite her 5'6" frame, Alona Bondarenko proved to the FORTIS Championships field throughout this past week that she sure packs a lot of punch. The 22-year-old Ukrainian polished off her maiden Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title run with a 63 62 victory against Francesca Schiavone, whose finals jinx remained intact.
Bondarenko, ranked No.62 and unseeded at the Tier II event, took it to the No.5-seeded Schiavone with a dazzling display of power on Sunday, closing her out in straight sets in a few minutes past the one hour mark. She maintained an 83% first serve percentage, winning 80% of those points, and also broke serve a total of five times during the match, making it virtually impossible for her opponent to grab any momentum at all. The Ukrainian cracked down-the-line winners like it was second nature.
"I didn't think about how it was a final, and that I could win or lose; I just played, and concentrated on every point," said Bondarenko, who was a runner-up to Sania Mirza in her only previous final, at Hyderabad last year. "I concentrated a lot on my first serve. Today, I just focused on my game and nothing else."
"She played great," Schiavone said. "She didn't give me a chance. She only gave away three or four points in the match. I was trying to find the solution, to try and break her, come into the net, I did so many things. But not so well I guess."
The title run comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering Bondarenko hadn't even been beyond the round of 16 at a tournament this size all year long, let alone in her entire career. But she came up with the wins all week, beating No.8-seed Mary Pierce in her opener and notching three set victories over fellow non-seeds Katarina Srebotnik, Nathalie Dechy and Kveta Peschke. She fended off a 5-2 deficit and match point in the third set against Peschke, to whom she had lost easily in their only prior meeting.
To cap it all off with her third Top 20 victory was clearly the perfect ending.
"I'm very happy," said Bondarenko, who also has wins over Tatiana Golovin and Alicia Molik. "I hope it's not my last title! Yesterday I was nervous with Peschke. If I keep playing like I did here, it'll help open doors for me. I'm playing well."
Despite coming away with another championship loss to add to her seven prior runner-up finishes, Schiavone remained positive about the week, which included the 10th Top 10 win of her career, a 61 61 quarterfinal rout of Patty Schnyder.
"It's okay. It's not my time to win. I'm not so disappointed. She really beat me. In the other finals I was always playing with the No.1, No.2, No.3 players in the world. So those were not easy. My time will arrive."
Aside from Bondarenko and Schiavone, a number of other players made noise during the Luxembourg week. Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska was the breakout star, notching surprise straight set wins over an injury-returned Venus Williams and top seed Elena Dementieva en route to her first ever semifinal; Peschke also reached the final four, dismissing Dinara Safina en route, a solid result after somewhat of a disappointing season. There was also a nice win over Martina M?for former Top 10 player Chanda Rubin, who hadn't won a main draw match in over a year after struggles with injury.
But one of the highest notes of the week came at the very end, as Schiavone salvaged her championship Sunday with a comeback victory in the doubles final. She and Peschke came from a set down to defeat Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Liezel Huber, 26 64 61. It is the Czech-Italian pair's second title, having also won at Dubai earlier this season, and it came just weeks after a career-best run to the US Open doubles semifinals.
"I feel good," Schiavone said. "Peschke and I have been playing for about a year now and I feel really good playing with her. I'd like for us to win more. It's been a great tournament, finals in singles and this is a great way to end it."
"I'm so grateful and happy that Francesca had the energy to play the doubles too," Peschke said. "It's a great feeling, a great moment. We're gonna go and have champagne now and celebrate!"
-- WTA
Bondarenko, ranked No.62 and unseeded at the Tier II event, took it to the No.5-seeded Schiavone with a dazzling display of power on Sunday, closing her out in straight sets in a few minutes past the one hour mark. She maintained an 83% first serve percentage, winning 80% of those points, and also broke serve a total of five times during the match, making it virtually impossible for her opponent to grab any momentum at all. The Ukrainian cracked down-the-line winners like it was second nature.
"I didn't think about how it was a final, and that I could win or lose; I just played, and concentrated on every point," said Bondarenko, who was a runner-up to Sania Mirza in her only previous final, at Hyderabad last year. "I concentrated a lot on my first serve. Today, I just focused on my game and nothing else."
"She played great," Schiavone said. "She didn't give me a chance. She only gave away three or four points in the match. I was trying to find the solution, to try and break her, come into the net, I did so many things. But not so well I guess."
The title run comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering Bondarenko hadn't even been beyond the round of 16 at a tournament this size all year long, let alone in her entire career. But she came up with the wins all week, beating No.8-seed Mary Pierce in her opener and notching three set victories over fellow non-seeds Katarina Srebotnik, Nathalie Dechy and Kveta Peschke. She fended off a 5-2 deficit and match point in the third set against Peschke, to whom she had lost easily in their only prior meeting.
To cap it all off with her third Top 20 victory was clearly the perfect ending.
"I'm very happy," said Bondarenko, who also has wins over Tatiana Golovin and Alicia Molik. "I hope it's not my last title! Yesterday I was nervous with Peschke. If I keep playing like I did here, it'll help open doors for me. I'm playing well."
Despite coming away with another championship loss to add to her seven prior runner-up finishes, Schiavone remained positive about the week, which included the 10th Top 10 win of her career, a 61 61 quarterfinal rout of Patty Schnyder.
"It's okay. It's not my time to win. I'm not so disappointed. She really beat me. In the other finals I was always playing with the No.1, No.2, No.3 players in the world. So those were not easy. My time will arrive."
Aside from Bondarenko and Schiavone, a number of other players made noise during the Luxembourg week. Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska was the breakout star, notching surprise straight set wins over an injury-returned Venus Williams and top seed Elena Dementieva en route to her first ever semifinal; Peschke also reached the final four, dismissing Dinara Safina en route, a solid result after somewhat of a disappointing season. There was also a nice win over Martina M?for former Top 10 player Chanda Rubin, who hadn't won a main draw match in over a year after struggles with injury.
But one of the highest notes of the week came at the very end, as Schiavone salvaged her championship Sunday with a comeback victory in the doubles final. She and Peschke came from a set down to defeat Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Liezel Huber, 26 64 61. It is the Czech-Italian pair's second title, having also won at Dubai earlier this season, and it came just weeks after a career-best run to the US Open doubles semifinals.
"I feel good," Schiavone said. "Peschke and I have been playing for about a year now and I feel really good playing with her. I'd like for us to win more. It's been a great tournament, finals in singles and this is a great way to end it."
"I'm so grateful and happy that Francesca had the energy to play the doubles too," Peschke said. "It's a great feeling, a great moment. We're gonna go and have champagne now and celebrate!"
-- WTA