Dokic crowned queen at the BMW Malaysian Tennis Open
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Singles - Final Jelena Dokic (AUS) d. (5) Lucie Safarova (CZE) 26 76(9) 64
Doubles - Final (WC) Safina/Voskoboeva (RUS/KAZ) d. Lertcheewakarn/Moore (THA/AUS) 75 26 105
Jelena Dokic fought back from two match points down to defeat Lucie Safarova in three sets 26 76 64. This is Jelena's first WTA title in over eight and a half years.
On a humid night that was sputtered with a cool breeze, tennis fans and aficionados converged on the BMW Malaysian Open 2011 at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Resort as the highlight of the tournament, the singles and doubles finals, took centre stage on Centre Court.
In the singles final, tennis fans in attendance were treated to a thrilling, nail-biting match, as in form Czech LucieSafarova took on resurgent Aussie JelenaDokic, with the both of them playing a fantastic, competitive match, making it a memorable final to remember. Both players had stressed prior to the final that they were playing good tennis leading up to the final, and that they would be prepared to face each other and offcourse determined to be crowned as the new champion. Eventually after slightly more than two and a half hours of an exciting and entertaining marathon match, Dokicemerged victorious and was crowned as the new BMW Malaysian Open Champion, as she defeated a subdued Safarova 2-6,7-6,6-4 for her first title in nine years, with her last tournament win dating back to 2002 in Birmingham, England.
“This is a great win for me. I was out there and Safarova was a tough opponent to play. I kept on fighting, I played one point, one match at a time. She tried to break my serve a couple of times throughout the match, but I kept my faults and mistakes to a minimal and I triumphed,” said a happy Dokic.
In the first set, Safarova used her power and speed to dictate the flow of the game which unsettled Dokic, who has played with success in this tournament leading up to the final by being patient, calculating and even playing rallies where she capitalized on her opponent’s mistakes. Safarova’s hard hitting serves and strokes, as well as her fast paced dictation of the game ensured that she took the first set 6-2.
In the second set, Dokic changed her game plan and the determination to claw her way back into the match was clearly evident. Although Safarovic raced to a 5-3 lead in the second set, a resilient Dokic battled hard and fought to get back into the game, forcing a tie break which saw her taking the second set 7-6.
In the third and final set, a focused Dokic got her act together and continued with carried on her resurgencefrom the second set. A visibly tiredSafarovawas not her samedominant self, as after the break, Dokicfighting spirit and resilience saw her upstaging Safarova as she took the game to her opponent, breaking Safarova’s serve and prevailing with a score of 6-4, thus sealing the match and earning the rights to the singles crown and title.
“In the third set, my serve was disappointingly down, and although I did not commit many double faults, she kept on breaking me. I kept coming back and twice during the third set I fought my way back into the match, from 3-1 to 3-3, then to 4-4, which is when I truly got back into the match. During the break my shoulder was tight and it felt as though I had pinched a nerve, though it is nothing serious as such things are normal and expected from a long, hard match such as this. It is fantastic to win a title after so long, early on in the year.”
“With my positive attitude, I showed mentally how strong I am, and I am well pleased that I am playing well, so I hope to continue playing well and I will work harder on my further improving my game,” she said.
Meanwhile in the earlier doubles final, the Russian-Kazakh combination of DinaraSafina and Galina Voskoboeva defeated the Thai-Aussie duo of NoppawanLertcheewakarn and Jessica Moore to land the title.
It was a pulsating tie that kept the spectators at the edge of their seats, as these two pairs displayed high quality tennis which was a clear indication of a strong will to win.
Safina and Voskoboeva won 7-5,2-6,10-5, and the win was their first ever in a final of a WTA event as a pair.
“Our opponents in the final were not much tougher than the previous opponents we played en route to the final. We knew that to win, everything depended on us, and we made sure that we were on top of our game coming into this evening’s final”, said an elated Voskoboeva.
The weather was kind to the players as the overcast skies somewhat helped cool things.
They had the rain to thank for their good fortune, as it drizzled at the scheduled time of the start of the finals, but the rain was not to stand in the way of the two finals as it stopped half an hour later.
But it was nonetheless a hot affair on the court as far as the players were concerned.
Voskoboeva and Safina managed to break Moore's serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead and despite losing the tenth game when Galina's serve was conceded, they managed to win the next two service games to take the first set in 42 minutes.
In the second set, Lertcheewakarn and Moore broke Vaoskoboeva's serve to take a 5-1 lead, before their opponent broke back.
In the eight game, Moore, who was on her serve, hit a forehand down the line winner for a 6-2 victory, forcing the title to be decided via super tie break.
Both Voskoboeva and Safina hit winners for a 5-0 lead before their feisty opponents recorded two break points to reduce the deficit.
But Voskoboeva and Safina broke Moore's serve twice for a 7-2 lead, but Safina's serve was broken twice for the Thai and Australian duo to reduce the deficit.
Voskoboeva and Safina conceded one point before taking the title, after a poor return from Moore.
Safina commented, “It was nice to win the doubles title and be back to winning ways. I am definitely on my way back to my best form after an injury ravaged year last year, so I am pretty happy with this win. From here on I will be heading to the States for singles competition at Indian Wells and I hope to carry on with my good form there.”
Voskoboeva on the other hand had this to say, “We have done well for ourselves as a doubles pair, but after this we will have to see our schedules as to when we can play doubles again as I too will be focusing on my singles career with the hope of improving my rankings.”
