Tauziat beats Yayuk to win Classic title<\/p>\n
BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuter): France's Nathalie Tauziat beat
\nIndonesia's Yayuk Basuki 2-6 6-2 6-2 to win the DFS Classic at
\nEdgbaston on Sunday, a year after she was beaten in the 1996
\nfinal.<\/p>\n
The second seed's win came after her 6-4 6-4 triumph earlier
\nin the day over Australian Kristine Kunce, who had to qualify for
\nthe event.<\/p>\n
That success seemed to take a toll in the final against fourth
\nseed Basuki when she lost five games in succession in the first
\nset against the Indonesian.<\/p>\n
But Tauziat turned it around in the second set by winning five
\ngames in a row herself for a 5-0 lead.<\/p>\n
When she broke Basuki's serve 4-2 in the final set, the
\nIndonesian had no reply.<\/p>\n
Basuki also had a busy day at the rain-delayed event, She had
\nknocked out top-seeded Rumanian Irina Spirlea 7-6 6-1 in her
\nsemifinal an hour before the final.<\/p>\n
Spirlea had in turn ousted Belgium's Dominique Van Roost 6-4
\n6-4 in a morning quarterfinal.<\/p>\n
Grass court<\/p>\n
In Halle, Germany, top seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov saved three
\nmatch points to beat the Czech Republic's Petr Korda 7-6 6-7 7-6
\nin the final of the Halle grass court tournament Sunday.<\/p>\n
In winning his first grass court tournament, the 23-year-old
\nRussian avenged a defeat in last year's final to Swede Nicklas
\nKulti, while it was Korda's 15th final loss.<\/p>\n
Kafelnikov, ranked six in the world, clinched the title with
\nhis first match point after two hours and 18 minutes.<\/p>\n
The Russian, who broke his racquet after slamming it into the
\nground late in the final tiebreaker, said he was fortunate to win
\nthe tiebreaker-filled match.<\/p>\n
\"I was lucky at the end to win,\" Kafelnikov said of his 12th
\ntournament win. \"It has been a long time since I won an ATP
\ntournament. But this year has started well with this first
\ntournament win in Halle.\"<\/p>\n
The 1996 French Open champion, who beat local hero Boris
\nBecker in a semifinal Saturday, was out-served by Korda, hitting
\nonly seven aces compared to his rival's 28.<\/p>\n
Korda had to send for an extra pair of shoes from Prague on
\nSaturday night because he did not expect to reach the final and
\nhad not packed enough tennis shoes.<\/p>\n
The Russian won the first set tiebreaker 7-2, but Korda
\nrallied to take the second 7-5.<\/p>\n
The Czech looked certain to win the tiebreaker in the third
\nset, but Kafelnikov saved three match points before going ahead
\nfor the first time 8-7 and then held serve to win.<\/p>\n
Clay court<\/p>\n
In Bologna, Italy, Spain's Felix Mantilla recovered from a set
\ndown to beat a tired and heat-stricken Gustavo Kuerten, the
\nFrench Open champion, in the final of the Bologna international
\nclay court tournament Sunday.<\/p>\n
Mantilla, the tournament's second seed, ended the Brazilian's
\n16-match winning streak.<\/p>\n
Ranked 16 in the world, Mantilla became the fourth Spaniard to
\nwin the Bologna tournament, triumphing 4-6 6-2 6-1 in sweltering
\nheat to earn his second ATP title.<\/p>\n
A wild card entry to the tournament, Mantilla pounced on a
\nstring of errors by his 20-year-old opponent, who was seeded
\neighth.<\/p>\n
Kuerten, a hero in Brazil after his surprise win in the French
\nOpen last Sunday, appeared well below his recent form.<\/p>\n
Kuerten started well but appeared to wilt in the humid 32
\ndegree Celsius heat, twice summoning the tournament doctor in the
\nthird set. He was given a salt and mineral tablet to combat
\ndehydration.<\/p>\n
Mantilla looked cool and composed as he carefully placed his
\nshots past the stranded Brazilian.<\/p>\n
At 3-0 down in the final set, the crowd generously applauded
\nthe Brazilian, aware he was in trouble. He managed to pull one
\ngame back on his service but again at changeover looked in
\ntrouble as he sat down with an ice-pack on the back of his neck.<\/p>\n
Kuerten later recovered enough to partner compatriot Fernando
\nMeligeni to a 6-2 7-5 doubles final win over Americans Dave
\nRandall and Jack Waite in cooler conditions.<\/p>",
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