Igor Kunitsyn and Jelena Jankovic capture Kremlin Cup titles

Igor Kunitsin, right, still appear to be shocked after his win against Marat Safin.

World no. 71, Igor Kunitsyn who played his first ATP final, upset former world number one Marat Safin 7-6 6-7 6-3 in an all-Russian Kremlin Cup final to clinch his maiden title on Sunday.

Earlier, world number one Jelena Jankovic overpowered Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-4 in the women’s final to win her third title in a row.

“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” Kunitsyn told reporters.

“I’d never have expected to beat Marat in the final in Moscow,” added the 27-year-old from Vladivostok, who took home $171,000 in winnings to more than double his earnings for the year.

Safin, seeded 7th and bidding to claim his first title in almost four years, reached the final without hitting a ball when his semi-final opponent, German Mischa Zverev, withdrew with illness on Saturday.

The big Russian has not tasted success since winning the Australian Open in January 2005.

“I have only myself to blame,” said Safin, who also lost to compatriot Nikolay Davydenko in the 2006 final in Moscow.

“If I had won the first set, it would have been a different story but he gained confidence as the match went on, played well in the end and deserved his victory.”

Love strucked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, left, and Vera Zvonareva of Russia pose
with their trophies after a final match.

In the women's singles, Jankovic, making her debut in Moscow, broke Zvonareva twice to take the first set in just over half an hour.

“I’ve played her twice in the last two weeks so I really knew what to expect and was focused right from the start,” said Jankovic, who pocketed $196,900 for her efforts.

“I dominated in the first set but in the second my concentration slipped a little bit but I was able to get myself together in the end.”

The 23-year-old has been playing almost non-stop in the last couple of months and must keep going for another week before taking a well-deserved rest.

“I’ve worked really hard in the last three weeks, winning three titles in a row. It’s not easy,” she told reporters.

“But I still have my commitments to play next week in Zurich. Then I’ll take a two-week rest before playing (next month’s season-ending WTA Championships) in Doha.

“I’ve had a tough season, overcoming a number of injuries but I’m quite close to finishing the year ranked number one and I’m really proud of it,” she added.

Zvonareva, who reached her first Kremlin Cup final on her eighth appearance in Moscow, said she could do little to stop Jankovic.

“It seems she had an answer for everything I tried,” the 24-year-old Muscovite told a news conference.

Ross Hutchins, left, and Stephen Huss, middle, pose with their runner-up trophies beside
Sergiy Stakhovsky, right, with his winners trophy (without his partner Potito Starace),
after the doubles final.

In the men's doubles final, first-time pairing of Sergiy Stakhovsky and Potito Starace captured their first ATP doubles title with a 7-6(4), 2-6, 10-6 victory over Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins.

The 22-year-old Stakhovsky, currently no. 167 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Rankings, was appearing in his first ATP doubles final. Earlier in the season he captured his maiden ATP singles title in his first final at Zagreb.

The 27-year-old Starace has now won three titles in four finals. He captured two titles in 2007 at Kitzbuhel and Acapulco and was runner-up at Acapulco in 2006.

“We played unbelievable doubles. We only signed up at the last moment and we can play maybe the next tournament then we’ll see," said Starace.

Nadia Petrova, left, and Katerina Srebotnik, 2nd left, pose with their trophies after winning the doubles against Cara Black, 2nd right, and Liezel Huber, right.

In the women's doubles final, top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber took on no.4 seeds Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik.

Petrova and Srebotnik pulled off the upset in straight sets, 6-4 6-4, for their first title as a team.

It was Petrova's 15th career Tour doubles title and Srebotnik's 19th.

(Images via Yahoo! Sport)

Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina in an all Russian affair final at Pan Pacific Open

Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina cruised into the final of the Pan Pacific Open with straight-set victories Saturday.

Fifth-seeded Kuznetsova, who upset top-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinal round beat Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 7-6 (5), 6-2, while Safina routed compatriot Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-0 in the second semifinal.

Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito was in the crowd for the match between Kuznetsova and Jankovic yesterday. After the matches, players hit balls into the stands; Kuznetsova hit
one to Naruhito, and he made an impressive catch.

"I'm enjoying myself here," Kuznetsova said.

"I'm trying to do new things and it's exciting to be on the court."

After a closely contested first set, Kuznetsova took control in the second, breaking Srebotnik three times.

Kuznetsova broke Srebotnik with a backhand down the line in the seventh game to go ahead 5-2. She raced to a 40-love lead in the next game but Srebotnik fought back to deuce before Kuznetsova won her fourth match point.

Kuznetsova, who won the U.S. Open in 2004, will be bidding for her first title of 2008. Her last Tier I singles title was in 2006 in Miami.

Last week she helped Russia to a win over Spain in the Fed Cup final Monday and said that win boosted her heading to Japan.

"Winning the Fed Cup has given me more motivation," Kuznetsova said.

It was Safina's first win in six matches against Petrova.

"There is a first time for everything in life and today was my first win over her," said Safina, who is fifth in the WTA rankings and had seven aces.

"We've had some good matches in the past," added Safina.

"I wasn't like I was thinking that I had never beaten her before, the strategy was to just go out there and hit the ball as hard as I can."

Safina wasn't thinking too much about Sunday's final being an all-Russian affair.

"It's just another match," Safina said.

"We know each other well and I hope it's going to be a good match that we both can enjoy."

The 2008 champion at this Tier I hardcourt tournament will collect $196,900.

(Via International Herald Tribune)
(Images via Yahoo! Sports, Toray PPO website, Sony Ericsson WTA website)