The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Dinara Safina clinches title; Clijsters wins at Hong Kong

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Sunday, Jan 07, 2007
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Dinara Safina clinches title; Clijsters wins at Hong Kong

Leander Paes-Martin Damm duo loses to Mikhail Youzhny and Nenad Zimonjic in Doha Open final

MELBOURNE: Dinara Safina proved she could keep a lid on her emotions when it mattered by beating Martina Hingis 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the final of the Australian women's hardcourt championships at Gold Coast on Saturday.

The Russian second seed secured her fifth WTA singles title with a crunching forehand winner, leaving Hingis frustrated in her build-up to the Australian Open, which begins on January 15.

Punching the air in delight, Safina ran to the stands to exchange high-fives with her coach. She broke into a big smile as she read a message that had come through on her mobile.

Sweet revenge

``I'm sorry Martina, I had to take revenge for Rome,'' Safina said courtside, referring to her defeat by Hingis in the 2006 Rome final.

Like her big brother and former World No. 1 Marat Safin, the 20-year-old Safina is prone to losing her way thanks to her volatile temper.

But having clawed her way to the title showdown after coming back from the brink of defeat during a three-hour marathon in the semifinals, Safina made sure she would not let her fragile temperament get in the way of victory.

Instead, it was Hingis who have the angry outburst.

The frustrated Swiss had only herself to blame as she let Safina off the hook time and again with her inability to convert the majority of the break-point opportunities she earned.

``I'd like to congratulate Dinara, what a week (you've had),'' Hingis said during the presentation ceremony.

``Today she was just too good and everyone should watch her because she's gonna be maybe even better than her brother.

``Marat is such a genius. He can play unbelievable tennis. She (Safina) definitely doesn't have as much touch but she has more will and desire.''

At Doha, defending champions Leander Paes and Martin Damm of Czech Republic suffered a defeat at the hands of an unseeded pair in the $one million ATP Qatar Open doubles final.

The third seeded Paes and Damm were defeated 1-6, 6-7(3-6) by Russian Mikhail Youzhny and Serb Nenad Zimonjic.

A total of eight break of services were witnessed during the match with Paes-Damm, the reigning U.S. Open champions recording three breaks and Youzhny-Zimonjic five.

Youzhny, a Doha doubles runner-up in 2005, won his second career ATP doubles title, while Zimonjic claimed his 14th.

``This is a great start to the New Year. I was without my partner (Fabrice Santoro) but I am happy to have won with Misha,'' Zimonjic said.

``We are sort of undefeated because this is only the second time we are playing together and we had to retire in St. Petersburg last year when we were winning. We just got better as the week went on, just like the weather,'' he added.

Belgian star Kim Clijsters's final year as a professional got off to a perfect start on Saturday when she beat World No. 2 Maria Sharapova in straight sets to win the Hong Kong invitational. In a match seen as an indicator of form before the Australian Open, the World No. 5 — who announced here she would retire at the end of the season — led from the start to beat Sharapova 6-3, 7-6.

The results: At Adelaide: ATP Next Generation Adelaide International: Semifinals: Novak Djokovic bt Joachim Johansson 6-3, 6-2; Chris Guccione bt Juan Martin del Potro 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.

At Gold Coast: WTA Mondial Australian Hardcourts: Final: Dinara Safina bt Martina Hingis 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

At Auckland: WTA: ASB Classic: Final: Jelena Jankovic bt Vera Zvonareva 7-6(9), 5-7, 6-3.

At Hong Kong: Champions Challenge exhibition: Final: Kim Clijsters bt Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6(8).

At Doha: ATP Qatar Exxon-Mobil Open: Singles (semifinals): Andy Murray bt Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 6-2; Ivan Ljubicic bt Robin Soederling 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5). Doubles (final): Mikhail Youzhny / Nenad Zimonjic bt Leander Paes / Martin Damm 6-1, 7-6(3) — Agencies

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