Petrova wins to Dechy in Cincinnati, wins title

Nadia Petrova put on an excellent performance when it was needed, taking the title at Cincinnati, Ohio from Nathalie Dechy, who had high hopes of winning the tournament.

It was an easy victory for the Russian, beating the Frenchwoman in straight sets, 62 61, in just an hour and 10 minutes.

"I expected a much more difficult match today," Petrova said. "I served well and hung in the rallies well. I was very focused today. I knew I had to play very clean and not give her any chances. I think it was a very clean match from my side."

"I tried my best out there but I couldn't do it today," Dechy said. "All the credit to Nadia though. She was serving really well, volleying well and hitting all of her shots really deep, I could never play my game. I was always under pressure. And my serve wasn't very effective either, so she also did well returning.

"When the list originally came out, I was maybe 10 spots out of getting into the main draw; I only got in at the last moment. It turned out to be a really great week. The organization here was of a really high standard and I'm really happy I ended up playing here."

Mauresmo was also in high hopes of winning the tournament, not playing since the third round of Wimbledon. She made it all the way to the semifinals before falling to countrywoman Nathalie Dechy, who eventually lost in the final to Petrova.

"It was disappointing to have an up-and-down match like this after the ones I played this week," said Mauresmo after losing on Saturday. "The reason I came here was to get matches though, so that's definitely a benefit for the US Open. Nathalie was just too good in the third set; I did my best today."