BOGOTÁ, Colombia - Every round brought a new surprise, so it was only fitting that the final of the Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas produced an upset, too. Seventh seed María José Martínez Sánchez, who had scraped by in a few of her matches earlier in the week, crushed third seed Gisela Dulko for her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title, 63 62.
Before this week, Martínez Sánchez had realized most of her success in doubles, winning five Tour titles in the discipline - four in 2001 (all with Anabel Medina Garrigues) and one at Acapulco last year (with Nuria Llagostera Vives). On Saturday she hiked that tally to six, winning here in Bogotá (again with Llagostera Vives). But her singles resumé was thinner, the highlight being a final - on the red clay of hometown Barcelona last year, where she lost handily to Maria Kirilenko.
"I really believe that doubles helps my singles," Martínez Sánchez said. "They are equally important to me. It also helps me improve a lot of my shots, so it gives me more confidence on the court when I'm playing singles matches."
That all changed in Bogotá. Martínez Sánchez ground out four tough wins over unseeded players en route to another final, including a marathon 63 67(6) 64 quarterfinal win over Betina Jozami and a tight 75 75 win over Patricia Mayr in the semifinals, and by the time she fought for the title the 26-year-old Spanish lefty was in top form, breaking serve four times and never losing her own for the 63 62 win over heavy favorite Dulko, who went largely untested to reach the final.
"I'm very happy to win my first singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour," Martínez Sánchez said. "The final was more difficult than the score suggests, but on the important points I think I played better. It feels great."
The tournament was rocked early with the departures of the top 2 seeds, as top seed Flavia Pennetta lost her opening match to Masa Zec Peskiric and second seed Carla Suárez Navarro had to retire in her second round match against Jozami due to a right elbow injury. The fourth, fifth and eighth seeds were also ousted before the quarters, leaving Dulko, Martínez Sánchez and sixth seed Mathilde Johansson as the only seeds. Dulko beat Johansson in that round.
In Saturday's doubles final, Llagostera Vives and Martínez Sánchez, the top seeds in the draw, beat second seeds Dulko and Pennetta in a match tie-break, 75 36 107. Both Spaniards now have six doubles titles in their Tour careers.
See photos in the Photo Gallery presented by Dubai Duty Free.
