Dubois shatters Sania's dream in Vancouver final

Vancouver, Aug 10 India's Sania Mirza failed in her attempt to win back-to-back International Tennis Federation (ITF) titles as local girl Stephanie Dubois outlasted her in three sets to become the first Canadian to capture the Vancouver Open women's singles title here. Top-seeded Sania, who jumped nine places to be 74 in the latest world rankings released Monday after wining the Lexington Open the week before last, was beaten by the 22-year-old second-seeded Quebec girl 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the $175,000 tournament here Sunday. For Sania it was a tiresome run as she had to play three-setters for three consecutive days, her quarter-final against Rebecca Marino and the semi-final against Sharon Fichman that went into the night and she had to be back on court Sunday afternoon for the final. In a bizarre game of tennis, Dubois lost the first set failing to hold her serve in four games and Sania looked good to pull it off, despite a partisan crowd making it difficult for her. Dubois, the 2007 losing finalist to Briton Anne Keothavong here, was joined by Sania in seeing neither held her serve in the first five games of the second set before the Canadian managed to hold her serve for the first time in the match to go 4-2 up but after some anxious moments. The Indian, who squandered a couple of break points in the sixth game, looked demoralised and conceded the set after being broken for the fourth time and then Dubois served it out, though Sania had a glimmer of hope when she saved two set points in the eighth game and then held her serve at last. Sania and Dubois continued to have problems holding serve as they traded breaks early in the decider and order was restored as the games kept going with the serve before the Canadian had the decisive break in the ninth game and then held her nerve in serving out the championship game to pocket $11,400 winner's cheque. Sania goes from here to Cincinnati to play in the doubles at the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open. Dubois said the pictures of previous winners on the court walls inspired her to fight it out. "I visualised myself on that wall with the others and I worked hard for it," said an excited Dubois, ranked 129 on the WTA charts. Third seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus beat Belgium's Xavier Malisse 6-4, 6-4, in the final of the $100,000 men's event. South Africans Rik De Voest and Kevin Anderson won the men's doubles, defeating Ramon Delgado of Paraguay and Kaes Van't Hof of the US, 6-4, 6-4. Meanwhile, Italy's Flavia Pennetta bagged the biggest win of her career, taking the $700,000 2009 LA women's title, beating Samatha Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-3. It was Pennetta's eight Tour title, and with it came a crystal trophy and $107,000 winner's cheque in Los Angeles Sunday Pennetta rose to No. 12 in the rankings Monday, one spot away from her career high of No. 11. Stosur, who won $55,500, goes to a career-high No. 17. Juan Martin Del Potro, reserving his most blistering serve in the deciding tie-breaker, fired five of his 19 aces Sunday to beat American top seed Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) and win back-to-back the Legg Mason Classic title in Washington. In the only other meeting between the two, the Argentine beat the American at the Los Angeles Open last year. (IANS)