The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Kirilenko reigns supreme

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Monday, Sep 24, 2007
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Sport - Tennis

Kirilenko reigns supreme

Vijay Parthasarathy

Meek surrender by Mariya Koryttseva

— Photo: SUSHANTA PATRONOBISH

WINNER TAKES ALL: Maria Kirilenko was unstoppable at the Sunfeast Open on Sunday.

Kolkata: Having played well above her level all week, the unseeded Mariya Koryttseva might have hoped to raise the decibel level a bit, pump her fist aggressively, even scratch a little, if not actually keep up with Maria Kirilenko, a player ranked 100 spots above her, in the final of the Sunfeast Open.

Disappointing

In that context, what transpired at the Netaji Indoor stadium on Sunday was disappointing. Kirilenko won, as expected, but her 6-0, 6-2 win, completed in an hour and seven minutes, was even more one-sided than you may have anticipated.

The Russian sewed up the first set in 27 minutes, benefiting as much from winners as her opponent’s misbehaving forehand. Koryttseva, however, started to focus better; she stroked deep groundstrokes in the first game of the second set and unexpectedly established a 2-0 lead.

Not that Kirilenko was perturbed: she cranked up that serve and from then onward lost only two more points on her serve; thus followed another six games on the trot.

The result, on the back of her come-from-behind win against Daniela Hantuchova in the semifinals, confirms the suspicion that Kirilenko has improved steadily over the past couple of seasons.

This is Kirilenko’s second career singles title, her first came two years ago to the day in Beijing, and she rises to No. 29 in the WTA rankings.

Earlier this year, she beat Jelena Jankovic in San Diego and Marion Bartoli the next week; her consistency this week, admittedly against average opposition (with the exception of Hantuchova), raises the hope that she might perform better in Tier I tournaments and make the second week at Slams with more frequency. “It is good to play a final, anything can happen in a final. There is pressure, and I am learning to deal with that,” Kirilenko said afterwards.

Certainly, women’s tennis would seem more competitive if attacking players like Kirilenko, Vania King, Sania Mirza and Koryttseva broke through and challenged the top hierarchy. Koryttseva succumbed on Sunday to a combination of factors, nerves, a thigh strain, an unquestionably better opponent, but she will take several positives from the game, not least of all, the news that she belongs to this level.

“She (Kirilenko) was hitting with the same amount of power as me, so that was encouraging,” Koryttseva said during the press conference. “She showed me some great shots, I will look at them and see how I can improve my game.”

The results: Singles final: Maria Kirilenko bt Mariya Koryttseva 6-0, 6-2. Semifinal: Kirilenko bt Daniela Hantuchova 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Doubles final: Vania King / Alla Kudryavtseva bt Mariya Koryttseva / Alberta Brianti 6-1, 6-4.