Although the drama may have been stifled a bit,
Zi Yan has become a champion in her native country.
Yan posted her first WTA Tour win when sixth seed Nuria Llagostera Vives of
Spain retired with a strained left hamstring late in the second set of Sunday's
final.
The 20-year-old Yan, who did not lose a set in the tournament, was
leading 6-4 4-0 when Llagostera Vives was forced to quit.
Yan lost only 16 games in all and knocked off three seeds in the event,
including defending champion and third seed Na Li in the quarter-finals.
A native of Si Chuan, Yan had never reached a semi-final before the event and
was unable to get out of the first round here last year.
Llagostera Vives was denied her eighth career singles title and second this
year.
She won at Rabat in May and saw the door to the finals open here when top seed
Vera Zvonareva was ousted in the first round.