The future of tennis was on show at the Idea
Prokom Open this weekend as both the men's and ladies titles were claimed by
teenagers.
16-year-old Russian Dinara Safina took the women's title overcoming
Slovakian Henrieta Nagyova in the final.
In the men's tournament 19-year-old Argentinian Jose Acasuso beat his
compatriot Franco Squillari 2-6 6-1 6-3 in two hours and one minute to take the
title.
Squillari who was ranked 11 in September 2000, but has since dropped to 81,
opened the first set at a hurricane pace with three aces in his first seven
serves, taking the set 6-2 in 30 minutes.
At the start of the second Acasuso broke Squillari's serve and suddenly the
tables were turned.
Acasuso, serving at speeds of up to 204kph seemed to move up to top gear and
took it 6-1.
The third set was a stubborn battle with both players digging deep and
displaying varied and colourful tennis that kept the suspense going until the
end.
In the final game, Acasuso lost three match points before he clinched it 6-3.
After the match Squillari was gracious. "I started well and thought I would
win but Jose played really well," he said.
"After he broke my serve in the beginning of the second set he got more
confidence and raised his game even more."
Acasuso was delighted to win his first ever senior Tour tournament.
"It's a milestone in my career and so important to me," he said.
"Franco played well in the first set and I was only able to start fighting
back in the second. I'll never forget Sopot and Poland.
"I'm travelling tomorrow and playing again on Tuesday so I won't have time to
do anything special but when I get back to Argentina I'll have a great
celebration."
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