Radwanska Wins - Just
by Barry Wood

It was an extraordinary match, which Agnieszka Radwanska won by beating Jill Craybas 6-2 1-6 7-6 (7-4). Both players held match points, but we'll get to that in a moment.

Many might have expected the 18-year old recent Australian Open quarter-finalist and world number 21 to easily beat her 33-year old opponent, ranked 77. And at first that's what it appeared might happen. Okay, Craybas did break in the first game and then led 2-0, but then she won only five more points in the entire set. But the second set saw a complete reversal.

Craybas set the tone by breaking to lead 1-0 with a fine forehand winner down the line, and after building a 2-0 lead again this time didn't let it go. In fact, she broke again for 3-0 after Radwanska had led 40-0. The Pole was making errors on the simplest of chances, and ended the set with just 11 points, none of them in the last two games.

The final set was extraordinary. The pendulum swung again, and after a mis-hit smash gave Radwanska a break for 1-0 she built a 5-1 lead and appeared to be on the edge of victory. The VIPs were gathered for the presentation ceremony, but they had to wait quite a while before the outcome was eventually decided in a tiebreak.

Radwanska held a match point at 5-2 which Craybas saved well with a pass, and then a double-fault and a forced error gave the American a break. Radwanska then held a second match point at 5-4, but Craybas again rose to the challenge with a forehand winner. She then held easily for 6-5, before Radwanska had treatment for blisters on her left foot.

The match then moved on to a dramatic conclusion. Craybas earned her first match point in a marathon game, hitting a backhand long before Radwanska recovered to take the set to a tiebreak on her seventh game point. Radwanska went on to lead the tiebreak 6-4, and even then the drama wasn't over as the ball clipped the net cord before falling on the line in her favour. Couldn't have been closer.

“The first two games I lost very quickly and then I won six, and then it was everything for her in the second set,” said Radwanska. “It's very strange and hard to explain. In the third set I was also very easy up, 5-1, and then she came back and was fighting to the last point.

“I was nervous, yes (at the end) and everything was upsetting me. I was also fighting until the last point, but if you are up 5-1, two breaks... I was relieved when I finally won it. That's the most important thing.”

Craybas was obviously disappointed at having fought back so well and coming so close to claiming her second career title.

“I just kept playing my game and I think she just got a little nervous towards the end,” she said. “I'm disappointed I lost but I fought my hardest. I played as swell as I could today and I have no regrets because I gave 100 percent and can't ask for more than that. I felt like on her second serve I could have been more aggressive at certain times. That might have made a little bit of a difference in the conclusion of the match.”

What made it hard on her was that she had felt she was within sight of victory.

“At 5-5 I felt I was going to pull it through because I had kind of done some visualisations and seen myself winning 7-5, and that one match point I had I think I could have been a little more aggressive. But although I'm disappointed I lost it was a great week and I'm going to take all the positives from it.”

The doubles title went to Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang from Chinese Taipei, who defeated Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei and Vania King of the United States 6-4 6-3.