On the verge of a second straight disappointing
Sunday, top seed Amelie Mauresmo got it together and cost Venus Williams a
pretty penny.
Mauresmo shook off a sluggish start on Sunday to defeat the third-seeded
Williams, 4-6 7-5 6-4 in the final of the Proximus Diamond Games.
Mauresmo was shocked last week by Russia's Dinara Safina in the final at the
Open Gaz de France tournament.
It looked like a second straight disappointing final when she dropped her
opening set against Williams.
But with a reputation for not stepping up under pressure, the Frenchwoman
rallied to win her 16th career title.
The loss cost Williams a chance at a racket encrusted with 1.3 million in
diamonds.
The prize was an incentive to any player who could win the event three times
in any five-year period.
Williams, who was a champion here in 2002 and 2003, lost for just the second
time in eight matches in 2005.
The 25-year-old Mauresmo is 11-2 in 2005 and defeated Williams for just the
third time in eight all-time meetings.