Israel's Anna Pistolesi admitted she was
"very proud" of her second successive title in as many weeks after beating
Jelena Kostanic of Croatia in the final of the Nordea Nordic Light Open.
Second seed Pistolesi, who was splendidly known as Anna Smashnova before her
marriage, started badly but fought back to defeat her unseeded opponent 4-6 6-4
6-0 on the clay surface which her back-court game best suits.
She triumphed a week ago in Sopot, Poland, and has now won 10 matches in
succession.
"It's a great feeling to win 10 matches and two tournaments in a row," said
Pistolesi, who also won back-to-back tournaments in Auckland and Canberra last
year.
"I'm very proud of what I've been able to achieve these past two weeks. I'm a
little tired after all the matches but I still feel great.
"I don't really think I needed change my tactics after losing the first set.
I played my same game but I think in the second set I managed to win the key
points.
"Jelena was playing so well up to 6-4 4-3, so it was obviously hard for her
to keep that level up for three sets.
"I'm going home for a few days to relax before heading to the States to play
New Haven and prepare for the US Open.
"Obviously, I'm changing surfaces to hardcourt - it's a new week, a new
tournament, so I have to keep working hard and hope for the best."
For the victory, Pistolesi pockets £14,000, although her defeated opponent, a
qualifier, can take consolation from having reached her first ever WTA final.
"It's obviously been a good week for me, and I'm very happy with the way I've
played in the past couple of weeks," said runner-up Kostanic.
"I'm pretty tired after playing eight singles matches in the past nine days
but this has been a great experience to play my first final. Hopefully I'll be
playing another one very soon!
"Anna has been playing great tennis the past couple of weeks and in the end
she was just too tough."
It was the eighth WTA Tour singles title victory for the 27-year-old
Pistolesi.
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