When you are a specialist on one surface and that surface is the one least played on, tournament wins are few and far between. Until today, grass specialist Tamarine Tanasugarn had won only one tournament in her career, and that one was played on a hard court. But now she has won the Ordina Open, and she won it in a most impressive way.
Tanasugarn had to qualify to get into the tournament in Rosmalen, The Netherlands. In qualifying rounds, she defeated Stephanie Dubois and Mirjana Lucic. Then the real fun began: Tanasugarn's first round match was against Kateryna Bondarenko, who had just won the International Women's Open on grass in Birmingham. Then she beat the talented Ashley Harkleroad, and yet another tough opponent--the ace-whacking grass specialist Michaella Krajicek. In the quarterfinals, she had to go against Alona Bondarenko, another formidable opponent. And in the final, she beat the woman who is arguably the hottest player of the season--Dinara Safina, saving eight break points in the second set. Wow.
Congratulations to Tammy, who has gone a long time without winning a tournament. It has also been four years since she made her last deep Wimbledon run. She has what could be a tough first match against Petra Cetkovska, followed by a much tougher potential second round against Vera Zvonareva. She could also be headed toward another clash with Krajicek.
Tanasugarn def. Safina, 7-5, 6-3
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