Brussels, BELGIUM. May 20 - May 25
USA Flag Sloane Stephens 15 2 2
CHN Flag Shuai Peng 15 6 3
Brussels, BELGIUM. May 20 - May 25
CHN Flag Jie Zheng 40 3
SUI Flag Romina Oprandi 40 4

Aferin Anastasia!

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova rallied from a 75 40 deficit to win her second career title.

Published August 01, 2010 12:00

Aferin Anastasia!
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Elena Vesnina

ISTANBUL, Turkey - The teen queen of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was made to work but managed to come away with her second career title Sunday, outlasting Elena Vesnina in the final of the Istanbul Cup, 57 75 64.

Pavlyuchenkova, the No.3 seed, led 5-2 in the first set with a set point but had a rough patch from there, losing nine straight games. But when it got to 75 40, she kicked back into gear, taking that second set then rallying from 1-3 in the third to score the three-hour, 10-minute victory. She added a second trophy to her cabinet, which already included a title from Monterrey earlier this year.

"I don't really know what to think right now," Pavlyuchenkova said. "Elena played really well and aggressively and didn't let me play my game. I knew if I won the second set I had a good chance of winning the match. It was so hot, I was still tired from my match yesterday, my legs were dead... but I really wanted to win the title and kept fighting every point. I'm so happy to win my second title."

Pavlyuchenkova had to come back from a set down to win her only other previous meeting with Vesnina, at an ITF Women's Circuit tournament in 2008. That encounter ended more comfortably with a 36 62 61 scoreline.

See pics of Anastasia, Elena and others in the photo gallery!

Vesnina, who celebrated her 24th birthday on finals day, still had reason to celebrate. She came into Istanbul on a seven-match losing streak, having not won a match on the Tour since Charleston in April; she won four in a row to reach the final here, her third career final after runner-up finishes last year at Auckland (to Elena Dementieva) and New Haven (to Caroline Wozniacki).

"It was tough conditions, but we both fought until the end," Vesnina said. "I started feeling ill at the end of the second set but I pushed myself as hard as I could. I'm proud of myself for sticking in there. It has been a great week and I have to give credit to Anastasia, she played very well and deserved the win."

The Top 2 seeds fell early, with No.2 seed Petra Kvitova losing first round to Anastasija Sevastova and No.1 seed and reigning French Open champion Francesca Schiavone falling second round to Elena Baltacha.

Check out our Getting To Know with Pavlyuchenkova right here.

Eleni Daniilidou and Jasmin Woehr won their first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title together in the doubles final, beating No.1 seeds Maria Kondratieva and Vladimira Uhlirova, 64 16 119. Daniilidou and Woehr were playing their fourth Tour final together but came away with their first title. Daniilidou now has two Tour doubles titles to her name; Woehr now has three to her name.

Share this page!

Related news

  • Video: Pavlyuchenkova & Coach Hingis

    May 23, 2013
    Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Martina Hingis took some time out during the recent Portugal Open in Oeiras to talk about their new coaching relationship. Watch the video feature right here!
  • Putintseva Taming Mental Demons

    May 23, 2013
    With the help of a former teenage prodigy, Yulia Putintseva is taming her fiery on-court persona as she looks to make her mark at the top of the game.
  • Zheng Upsets Wozniacki In Brussels

    May 22, 2013
    A very aggressive Zheng Jie hit 34 winners to take out No.1 seed Caroline Wozniacki at the Brussels Open on Wednesday. Kaia Kanepi also took out one of the favorites - who did she beat?
To The Top
3