Frenchman Mathieu wins second successive tennis tournament
Agencies, Lyon, France
In-form Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu beat Gustavo Kuerten 4-6, 6- 3, 6-1 in the final of the Lyon Grand Prix final on Sunday to claim a title for the second successive week.
The 20-year-old Mathieu, winner of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow as a qualifier on Oct. 6, beat the former world number one to take his unbeaten run to 13 matches.
The watching Guy Forget, now France's Davis Cup captain, was the last Frenchman to win back-to-back titles in 1991.
Despite being exhausted by two weeks of non-stop playing, Mathieu moved up a gear in the second set and overpowered his Brazilian opponent in a one-sided third set, breaking him straightaway before outpacing him with blistering returns.
"I was feeling much better today than on Saturday," Mathieu said.
"I knew it would not be easy against Kuerten but I believed in my chances."
Towards the end of the 92-minute final, Kuerten, who has slumped to 40th in the world rankings after a hip operation in February, looked worn out.
The Brazilian had not played an indoor final for two years and said he was surprised to play so well at the end of a difficult season.
The three-time French Open champion said he was exhausted after tight matches against top seed Marat Safin and Frenchman Arnaud Clement in previous rounds, but he paid homage to Mathieu.
Winning two tournaments in a row was an achievement but Mathieu, who beat US Open champion Pete Sampras in Long Island last month, has yet to achieve his childhood dreams.
"Since I was a little kid, my dream has been to become world number one. I still have a long way to go," he said.
In Filderstadt, Germany, Kim Clijsters captured her eighth career title at the Porsche Grand Prix on Sunday, charging back from a set down to beat Daniela Hantuchova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Clijsters needed two hours before the Slovakian netted a forehand return to end the match at the US$625,000 event, where she also came back from a set down in ousting France's Amelie Mauresmo and Lindsay Davenport.
Afterwards, the Belgian player chose a new Porsche sports car for winning instead of US$97,000.
Both 19-year-olds will move up in the rankings after playing the first all teen-ager final in the 26 years of the event.
Clijsters, who was No. 3 in March before a shoulder injury, will move up from No. 9 to No. 5. Hantuchova will jump from 11 to a career high 9 after her second final. Her first came at Indian Wells, where she won the title.
In Zurich, Switzerland, Swiss teenager Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian beat world No. 15 Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in Sunday's first round of the US$1,224,000 Swisscom Challenge.
The 18-year-old wildcard entry, who first came to prominence at the same event a year ago when she unexpectedly reached the quarterfinals, lost five match points before finally winning.
Israel's Anna Smashnova defeated Chanda Rubin of the United States 6-3, 6-3 and Amanda Coetzer of South Africa beat Italy's Silvia Farina Elia 7-5, 6-2.