Taking advantage of not having to play in the
semi-finals a day earlier, defending champion Amelie Mauresmo of France captured
her second straight title and fifth of the year at the Advanta Championships on
Sunday.
Mauresmo rallied from a set down to beat sixth seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia
3-6 6-2 6-2.
"The consistency is what I've been looking for for the past few years," said
Mauresmo, who successfully defended a title for the first time.
"And I feel I have that now."
The top-seeded Mauresmo was scheduled to face third seed Maria Sharapova on
Saturday, but the Russian was forced to withdraw with a right shoulder strain.
Advancing without having to step onto the court, Mauresmo proved much stronger
in the second and final sets against Zvonareva, who needed to go to a second-set
tie-breaker to beat fellow Russian Nadia Petrova in their semi-final match-up.
"I wanted to take control of the game and make her play," Mauresmo said
about winning the second set.
"I was reading her game much better, moving much better."
Zvonareva said: "I had to play my game and not give her a chance to attack me.
"I tried to always give her a hard time. It's my first Tier II final, so
it's great experience."