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No. 2 Seed and Molik Ousted at WTA Bangkok
Posted on October 12, 2006
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Knowing this could be the last match of her professional tennis career, Mariana Diaz-Oliva found a way to defeat an opponent she had never beaten before. Memories of 14 years on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour racing through her head, the 30-year-old Argentine rallied from a set down to post a 67(4) 63 64 victory over No.2 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues on Wednesday at the PTT Bangkok Open.
"I've played her so many times and I've never beaten her," said Diaz-Oliva, who will retire after this event. "When I saw I had her in the draw I was worried and thought this could be my last match. Walking out to the court, I felt strange, I wasn't crying, but I really felt that this may be my last match."
Trailing 5-3 in the third set, Medina Garrigues saved two match points but Diaz-Oliva didn't waste any more opportunities in the next game and served out the match to love. It was her first victory over the Spaniard in four attempts.
"After losing the first set," Diaz-Oliva said, "I started to think a little bit about my career, about what I had done and this possibly being my last singles match. But then I just decided that if she (Medina Garrigues) was going to win, she would have to do something special. So I just focused and played my best. When I won the second set, I thought 'ok, I can win this and I just kept going.' She is a very difficult player to beat as she just keeps fighting, even if she loses a point and you think 'she's tired'. I'm really happy to win this match today, to finally beat her so close to the end of my career."
Diaz-Oliva, who will face Aiko Nakamura in the second round, said injuries and family plans made her decide to hang up the racquet.
"My body just hurts," she added. "Every day I hurt all over and my body is telling me it's time to retire. Also I'm getting married at the end of the year (December 8th) and I'm planning to have a family -- it's time for me. When I look back, I'm quite happy with my career, I always played hard and fought my best. I know that I didn't have the talent to be the No.1 in the world, but I think I did the best with what I had."
No.3 seed Nathalie Dechy knew she had a tough match ahead of her against qualifier Yan Zi. The Frenchwoman lost to the Chinese doubles specialist earlier this year at the Australian Open but took revenge at Strasbourg.
"I had a lot to adjust to," Dechy said. "I had a jet lag and the change in temperature, plus I was playing indoors before I came here. I'm pleased with how quickly I adjusted and I feel I will be even more comfortable tomorrow. It's amazingly humid here, I think I sweated more today than I ever have before in a tennis match."
Dechy next faces Austrian Sybille Bammer, a 61 63 victor over Nicole Pratt. The two already faced each other three times this year. Bammer leads the head-to-head series 2-1 but Dechy won the last encounter in Luxembourg.
"We seem to keep drawing each other," Dechy said. "We played at Wimbledon, the US Open and again in Luxembourg. She saw me earlier and we laughed that it was impossible that we are playing each other again."
Other Wednesday winners were No.5 Eleni Daniilidou, No.8 Jelena Kostanic, Vania King, Erika Takao, Klara Zakopalova, Nakamura and Severine Bremond.
-- WTA
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