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Anna-Lena on Magnetic Pro Number One 98
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Anna-Lena Groenefeld wins first WTA-Titel in Acapulco, Mexico
Anna-Lena Groenefeld won her first career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title at the $180,000 Abierto Mexicano TELCEL presented by HSBC, defeating defending champion and top seed Flavia Pennetta, 61 46 62.
Second-seeded Groenefeld dominated the first set over Pennetta, who was unable to find her shots and get into a rhythm. The German raced to a 4-0 lead, keeping her Italian foe under constant pressure with her big serve and trademark aggressive game.
Pennetta was able to change the tide in the second set, taking advantage of some of her opponent's careless shots. She capitalized on this at 4-4, when the Italian stayed consistent to hold serve for 5-4. Groenefeld attempted to avoid going to a third set, but was unable, netting a forehand volley to give Pennetta a break point, which she converted to force a decisive third set.
In the third set, Groenefeld was back in the driver’s seat, and a clearly frustrated and racquet-tossing Pennetta continued to falter on her shots. At 4-2, Groenefeld tasted victory and didn’t look back, breaking Pennetta and serving out the match to win her first-ever Tour singles title.
"I started very well, and then in the second set, I made more errors," Groenefeld admitted. "But I felt comfortable after the second set. I just tried to tell myself to keep being aggressive and going for my shots."
"The key today was to continue to be aggressive, to keep her behind the baseline and keep moving in."
Pennetta was appearing in her third final this season, having previously fallen in the final of Gold Coast and last week in Bogota. Her final performance is improving, as the 20th-ranked Italian found solace in taking this championship match to three sets. "Acapulco has been the best tournament this year because today I won one set at least, after losing in (Gold Coast) Australia and (Bogota) Colombia, where I didn´t win any sets."
Groenefeld's path to the final was marked by three straight set wins, including one that served as a turning point over doubles partner Meghann Shaughnessy. "I felt better as the week went on. I had a tough first couple of matches, just getting adjusted, but then I played a great match against Shaughnessy and kept going from there."
Groenefeld did not stop at just winning the singles title, as she paired with Shaughnessy to take the team's second career doubles crown. The top seeded tandem defeated No.2 seed Asagoe/Loit 61 63 to take home their second doubles title together, adding to their win in Bali last year.
Groenefeld becomes the first player this season to win the singles and doubles titles at the same tournament, a feat that was achieved only four times in 2005. "It can’t get too much better, two titles in one day," said Groenefeld.
Shaughnessy increases her doubles count to a total of 14, Groenefeld now owning four. Shaughnessy remarked on the successful team, "We’ve been playing together for a while and it’s been great. This week has been very good, and I hope we can keep winning."
sourced at www.wtatour.com
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