Su-Wei Hsieh overcomes Laura Robson to capture title – Guangzhou International Women’s Open 2012
Ranked 53rd in the world, Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei ended Laura Robson’s dream run, downing the British number one in three sets 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the final of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open in China on
Saturday. The Taiwanese needed two hours and 48 minutes to complete this close win over her young rival.
Robson entered this event with the same form with which she stunned two former Grand Slam champions, Kim Clijsters and Li Na, to reach the fourth round. The 18-year-old upset Zheng Jie, Peng Shuai and Sorana Cirstea, who were seeded
second, seventh and third respectively to advance to the title match here.
Coming back to the latest match, Hsieh and Robson started the contest by holding their serve in the first two games to equalise the score at 1-1. The British player drew the first blood, as she broke Hsieh in the third to go up
2-1 but the Taiwanese did not take much time to square off the score at 2-2. Hsieh gained momentum and clinched four of the following five to close it 6-3.
Once again, Robson was first to move ahead in the second set, breaking the Taiwanese in the second game to attain a 2-0 lead. However, just like the opener, Hsieh turned it around and grabbed four back to back, building a 4-2 advantage.
The Taiwanese maintained her lead till 5-3 but then Robson clinched four successive games to capture it 7-5.
Robson was looking to win the first title of her career quickly, as she won opening three games of the decider to gain a 3-0 lead. However, Hsieh snatched six of the next seven and clinched the set 6-4 to grab a dramatic win.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Hsieh said, "I'm very happy to play so well in singles this season. But even though I've done well in singles, I'm going to keep playing doubles too, even more actually - my sister, who
is 19 years old, is young and needs my help, so I'm bringing her to WTA tournaments with me. She's improving fast."
Praising her rival, the Taiwanese added, "Laura's a great player and has been improving a lot this year, but I don't think she felt comfortable with my game. Some people say I don't often hit the ball with a lot of power, that
I used the opponent's power against them.”
Hsieh captured second title of her career, with the first one coming in Kuala Lumpur this year.
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