The Hindu : Nicole Pratt triumphs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Nicole Pratt triumphs

By A. Joseph Antony

Nicole Pratt who won the singles title. - Photo: H. Satish

HYDERABAD, FEB. 21. A penchant to raise her game more than a notch or two on the `pressure points,' saw Sania Mirza emerge the youngest Indian to claim a professional tour title, both among men and women, on the centre court of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh complex on Saturday.

Complementing rather than duplicating Liezel's Huber's skills, the duo defeated Tiang Tiang Sun and Ting Li 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the Women's Tennis Association-ING Vysya Hyderabad Open final.

Sania may have overdone her cross-court forehanders a bit, but more than made up for them by showing steely nerves, especially on some stunning service returns. Huber marshalled the forecourt with vigilance in the early stages of the contest, banging back the volleys no sooner than they crossed the net. As the game wore on, some of that sharpness slipped for the South African, who has teamed up with such illustrious players as Magdalena Maleeva and Martina Navratilova.

Communication between Huber, ranked 11th in the world in doubles and Mirza seemed much better, with words exchanged every now and then, while the Chinese pair talked rarely. Both sides adopted the tandem formation of service, but Ting Li's two double faults saw her spill the fourth game.

When Huber was broken in the ninth and Sun held her own in the 10th, the pairs drew level. A trade of breaks took the set into tie-breaker, where Sania and Liezel dropped just one point.

The second set saw an exchange of breaks in the second and third games, with Sania and Liezel a shade static in the vicinity of the net, which allowed the Chinese duo enough chances to attack the tramlines.

A string of attacking lobs from Sania saw Sun's serve slump in the ninth and the rivals go up 5-4. In the all-important 10th, Li sank the ball into the net, but compensated with a hit to Huber's feet for the next point. Sania's service winner was followed soon after by a double fault. A smacking down the line forehander from Sania found Li's return too far long, spelling victory for the Huber/Mirza combo.

Sania's shrill shriek was lost in the yell from the crowd that had been supporting her campaign right through the tournament. The Hyderabad girl will share US $ 6500 with Huber.

On Friday in the doubles semifinals, the third-seeded Chinese pair of Ting Li and Tian Tian Sun had subdued Yulia Beygelzimer and Tatiana Poutchek 6-3, 6-2, while Sania Mirza and Liezel Huber got the better of the fourth-seeded duo of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng 7-6 (3), 6-3.

In the singles, Nicole Pratt `chipped' away a stiff first set challenge from Maria Kirilenko, crushing her easily in the second, enroute to her maiden WTA title with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory.

The 17-year old Russian's hard hitting was her undoing. Time and again, the ball went long or strayed over the sidelines. When she curbed her flat and fast returns in the seventh game, there was a change in her fortunes. The mistakes Maria had been making disappeared for a while and instead the Muscovite had Pratt on the run.

Holding her own in the seventh, `Masha,' as Maria is known to her friends, broke Pratt in the eighth with the daintiest of drops. Kirilenko wrested the Australian's serve again in the 10th, this time with an attacking lob that found Pratt hopelessly stranded in the forecourt.

The erratic side of Kirilenko surfaced again in the 11th. The tie-breaker went the fourth seed's way following a duel of volleys in the precincts of the net. The nadir of Maria's game was reached perhaps when she crunched a saucy lob from Pratt way beyond the baseline.

The second set witnessed Pratt's stock rise steadily. At the threshold and serving out for the set and match, she double-faulted but hung on grimly. Even on this occasion, Pratt bided her time for Kirilenko to despatch a backhand lob wide.

An exultant Pratt, 31, said she wouldn't contemplate retirement for the next three years. #Mr. Devendra Gupta, Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, who was the chief guest, gave away the prizes.

The results (both finals):

Singles: Nicole Pratt (Aus) bt Maria Kirilenko (Rus) 7-6 (3), 6-1.

Doubles: Liezel Huber (SA)/Sania Mirza (Ind) bt Ting Li/Tiang Tiang Sun (Chi) 7-6 (1), 6-4.

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