The Hindu : Carlos Moya triumphs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 16, 2002

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Carlos Moya triumphs

BASTAD (Sweden) July 15. Carlos Moya broke Younes El Aynaoui's serve in the penultimate game and won the Swedish Open singles title 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 on Sunday.

It was the second title of the year for the 26-year-old Spaniard, who also won on clay at Acapulco, Mexico. He now has won nine ATP tournaments, all but one on clay, his favourite surface.

Moya, seeded third behind El Aynaoui, broke the Moroccan in the 11th game of the decisive set on his second breakpoint when his crosscourt forehand hit the line.

Moya, serving strongly throughout the match and hitting nearly 75 per cent of his first serves, then closed out the match with a love game before a sell-out centre court crowd of more than 5,000.

The final, one of the best in years, lasted 2 hours, 7 minutes.

``It was a tough match, it's mentally tiring to play Younes,'' Moya said. ``I'm very happy with the way I played.''

Moya, whose kick serve sometimes causes back and stomach muscle pains, needed a massage from a trainer on court at the start of the third set.

``I felt pain in my back but the massage helped,'' Moya said. ``In the third, toward the end of the match, I tried to attack more and play more volleys. But I was lucky sometimes.''

A former French Open champion, Moya earned $57,000 for his first appearance in the Swedish Open, one of the world's oldest clay-court tournaments.

``It was a great week for me. I had so much fun, both on and off the court,'' said Moya, who won his only Grand Slam title at the 1998 French Open final, a year after he lost to Pete Sampras in the Australian Open title match.

The tennis stadium in Bastad, a seaside resort in southwestern Sweden, is only a few hundred meters (yards) from the beach. And that's a place where Moya gets inspired.

Last year, he won at Umag, which is also near the sea. Besides Acapulco, he reached the final this spring in Monte Carlo, another venue near the sea.

Wimbledon doubles champions Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Todd Woodbridge of Australia beat Paul Hanley and Michael Hill of Australia 7-6 (6), 6-4 in a final featuring the two highest seeded pairs. — AP

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