Nikolay Davydenko and Anna Chakvetadze each won
Kremlin Cup titles in all-Russian finals Sunday.
Top-seeded Davydenko, the 2004 champion, beat Marat Safin 6-4,
5-7, 6-4 for his fourth title this season and Chakvetadze upset
fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-4 for her second straight win.
Chakvetadze won her first title two weeks ago at the Guangzhou
Open in China.
The fifth-ranked Davydenko made a decisive break in the sixth
game of the first set.
He broke twice early in the second set, but Safin broke back and
then saved three match points in the ninth game. Safin converted his
only break point and evened the match at 1-1.
``If I had held in the first games of the third set, I would have
a chance in the match,'' Safin said.
Petrova, playing with groin and chest injuries, saved four break
points in the seventh game of the first set before dropping her
serve. She broke back immediately, but lost her next service game
and ultimately the set _ only the second set she had lost in five
matches.
Chakvetadze continued to control play in the second set and broke
twice to lead 4-1. Though Petrova broke back in the sixth game,
Chakvetadze improved her record against her opponent to 3-0 this
season.
``I was lucky today,'' Chakvetadze said. ``Petrova wasn't 100 per
cent fit today.''
The 24th-ranked Chakvetadze will move into the top 20 for the
first time in her career next week. Petrova, who will remain at No.
5, said injuries affected her chances.
``I had my chest and hips bandaged and it was difficult to serve
and move _ I did all I could,'' Petrova said.
The loss was Petrova's first in six finals this season. She won
her sixth career title at the Porsche Grand Prix last week in
Stuttgart, Germany.
© The Canadian Press, 2007