Danish dazzler
In-form Wozniacki beats Stosur to win Kremlin Cup
MOSCOW: Third seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark won the WTA Kremlin Cup here yesterday, beating Australian top seed Samantha Stosur to claim the 20th title of her career.
The former world number one survived a tough match against Stosur winning through 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 for her second title this year to level her head-tohead record with the Australian at 3-3.
“It was a tough match and it could have gone either way,” said Wozniacki, who had to dig deep to fight back from 1-3 down in the third set.
“But at the right times I managed to win the right points. I tried to stay aggressive and stay close to the line and just dictate.”
Wozniacki, currently 11th in the world, had got off to a confident start with an early break giving her a comfortable 3-0 lead.
Stosur, looking for her first title since the 2011 US Open, fought back in the second set to level at one set all after one hour 20 minutes on court.
The 28-year-old started the deciding set with an immediate break to grab a 2-0 lead but Wozniacki broke back in the sixth to level at three games all.
In the 12th game Wozniacki made the deciding break to win the match in 2 hours 13 minutes when Stosur, who survived two match points, sent the ball wide with a forehand cross.
Wozniacki promised to come to Moscow next year to defend her title here.
“It’s always nice to come back to the tournament, which you have won,” she added.
The Dane received a silver Cartier trophy and a US$122,000 cheque, while Stosur pocketed US$66,250.
In the men’s section, second seeded Italian Andreas Seppi won the title beating fourth seed Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in the final.
The 28-year-old Seppi battled from a set down to win 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 for his third career and second of the year. Seppi got a silver trophy by Cartier and US $121, 520 prize purse, while Bellucci received US$64,000.