Jankovic Dominates Kuznetsova for Rome Win

ROME, Italy - When Jelena Jankovic didn't see Justine Henin in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia draw, she smelled blood; sure enough she followed that scent all the way to the end, earning the prestigious Tier I singles trophy on Sunday afternoon with a dominant 75 61 championship victory over one of today's clay court standouts, Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Neither player dropped a set in reaching the final, but Jankovic was the only one who continued that trend through championship Sunday, recovering nicely after letting a 4-2 lead to dissipate in the first set before cruising to another straight set win. A shaky serve and several errors on important points hindered Kuznetsova's campaign.

"I had so many opportunities in the first set and didn't use them; if I used even 50% of them, the match would be completely different," a dejected Kuznetsova said. "Neither of us were serving well, but when I was serving she was returning well so I wanted to serve harder and harder, and it was getting a bit too risky."

"I broke her so many times; she has a tough serve but I was just returning well," Jankovic said. "I knew my serve wasn't going so well, so I needed to concentrate on breaking her, and that's what I did. I was just trying to hang in there. She's one of the best on clay; I expected a tough battle and hoped to make it through, but I was surprised to win in such a short time in two sets, 6-1 in the second."

The absence of a certain Belgian world No.1 in the Italian capital made the title that much more winnable in the eyes of Jankovic, who is 0-5 against her; in their most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of Berlin last week, she was leading 4-0 in the third before the world's top player won six straight games and the match.

"I won this tournament - you know why? Because Henin didn't come," Jankovic joked. "I came here and didn't see her in the draw and said 'Here's my chance.' It's true. For me she is the one. She's a great champion. It's just so tough to beat her. I'm always so close and lose 6-4 in the third, and a few points decides the winner every time. I just need to beat her once and it'll be easier for me."

The Internazionali BNL d'Italia title, her third of the year after winning a Tier IV event in Auckland and another Tier I trophy in Charleston, draws Jankovic even with Henin for most titles so far this year with three; a massive turnaround from a year ago, when the Serbian came into Rome on a 10-match losing streak.

"A year ago I almost quit playing tennis here in Rome - it was where everything turned around in my career. It's just amazing how after one year I'm here and holding the trophy. It's just unbelievable what a year does. I'm really thankful for what happened. It made me stronger and I feel I'm more experienced."

Kuznetsova was the 11th player to make the finals of Berlin and Rome back-to-back, but only the second to finish runner-up both times, after Gabriela Sabatini did so 14 years ago. The Russian falls to 0-4 in 2007 finals, in fact, having also taken second place at Doha and Indian Wells earlier in the year on hardcourts.

"It's just about the finals; it's important to get there but it's very bad to lose it," Kuznetsova declared. "I know I can play much better than I played today. I've proven it in other matches, now I'll just have to prove it in finals. It is something I have to work on, but I'm definitely sure I have the game to do it."

Kuznetsova was the third Russian ever to compete in the title match in Rome; Olga Morozova and Dinara Safina were also runners-up here, in 1972 and 2006.

The 2007 Internazionali BNL d'Italia provided many, many stories: Samantha Stosur taking out No.1-seeded Amélie Mauresmo in a three set nail-biter; Serena Williams' impressive season being derailed by an inspired Patty Schnyder; and the coming of age of Daniela Hantuchova, who reached her very first clay court semifinal in 34 tries on the slow, power-diffusing surface.

Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo also came through, claiming the doubles title earlier on Sunday with a 64 61 victory over Tathiana Garbin and Roberta Vinci. The No.7-seeded pair was playing as a team for the first time, but neither was a stranger to winning doubles trophies on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour: Dechy won her third, one of her previous two coming at the US Open last year with Vera Zvonareva; Santangelo won her third of the year, and fourth overall. (WTA)