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Mauresmo outlasts Pierce to win WTA Champions
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-14 10:39
Pierce got broken to open the third set, then she won three straight games to
take a 3-2 lead. Mauresmo won two of the next three games for 4-all.
Mauresmo lunges to
hit a forehand to compatriot Mary Pierce during the final of the WTA Tour
Championships in Los Angeles November 13, 2005.
[Reuters] |
Pierce was a bundle of nervous
tics near the end of the 3-hour, 6-minute match at Staples Center. She tugged on
her long braid, blew into her fingers, readjusted her top, and toweled off her
arms and legs.
Serving at love-40, she hit her next-to-last winner of the match, a backhand
that staved off a second break point. But she pulled a forehand wide to trail
5-4.
Pierce held triple break point in the next game, but her slew of errors
helped Mauresmo close out the match. Pierce had beaten Mauresmo in a
three-setter Friday during round-robin play.
Pierce hit 11 more winners, but had a whopping 49 unforced errors.
Mauresmo, a former world No. 1, has always been close and consistent, but
fell short in winning a major title. She came closest at the 1999 Australian
Open, losing in the final. She is a three-time Wimbledon semifinalist and
reached the U.S. Open semis once.
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