HANSOL KOREA OPEN – Final update

Written by: Resendiz on 25th September 2011

HANSOL KOREA OPEN

Seoul, South Korea

September 19-25, 2011

$220,000/International

Hard/Outdoors

Results – Sunday, September 25, 2011

Singles – Final

(6) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) 76(0) 76(2)

Doubles – Final

(1) Grandin/Uhlirova (RSA/CZE) d. (2) Dushevina/Voskoboeva (RUS/KAZ) 76(5) 64

Final Facts

– 29-year-old Martínez Sánchez wins her fifth WTA title, her first four coming on clay – at Bogotá and Bastad in 2009, Rome in 2010 and Bad Gastein this year. Now 5-1 in finals, she is the first Spaniard to win a WTA title on hardcourts since Anabel Medina Garrigues prevailed in Canberra, Australia, in January 2006.

– Martínez Sánchez did not concede a set on her way to the trophy, although she did face three set points in the second set of Sunday’s final.

– Voskoboeva was playing her first WTA final on any surface; before this week she had only been to one WTA semifinal in her career, at Baku in July. She did not lose a set en route to the final, upsetting No.8 seed Ekaterina Makarova and No.5 seed Polona Hercog along the way.

– Natalie Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova win their first doubles title together. The win marks 30-year-old Grandin’s first WTA title of any kind, having been 0-10 in previous doubles finals. Uhlirova, 33, collects her fifth WTA doubles title (she is now 5-12 in her career in WTA doubles finals).

Final Quotes

María José Martínez Sánchez, 2011 Hansol Korea Open singles champion:

“I felt very calm in the tie-breaks. That was the key for me. I felt I played well the whole match. I like coming to net and I think it also makes my opponents uncomfortable, so it works well. But Galina played well – this was my toughest match of the week. I had to fight until the end.”

“I can’t say how happy I am to win my first hardcourt title. Rafael Nadal, Feliciano López, Nicolas Almagro, Fernando Verdasco… they are the golden age of Spanish tennis right now. But the women players are also working very hard.”