Rezai rolls by Hradecka in final
STRASBOURG, France -- Aravane Rezai of France beat Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 7-6 (2), 6-1 Saturday to win her first WTA Tour title at the Strasbourg International.
"It wasn't easy to handle [the pressure]. At the start I was a bit scared," Rezai said. "Mentally this was my toughest match of the week."
Need the scores from any match played in today's tournaments? It was Rezai's third final after runner-up finishes in 2007 and in 2008.
The 79th-ranked Rezai saved eight break points in the first set, rallying from 5-3 down as Hradecka wasted a chance to serve out the opener. Rezai saved two set points serving at 6-5 down and 15-40 to force a the tiebreaker.
Rezai won six consecutive games in the second set and closed it out on her fifth match point.
Rezai is the first Frenchwoman to win at Strasbourg, where past winners included Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport.
Both players are in the draw for the French Open, which starts Sunday. Rezai faces Ai Sugiyama of Japan, while Hradecka takes on Austrian qualifier Yvonne Meusburger.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
