On her way to the final, fifth seeded Dushevina never lost more than four games in her matches, and playing against eighth seeded Hradecka was no harder, as she crushed the Czech with a score of 60 61.
"I was serving very well today. I tried to be aggressive and push forward so she didn't have any chance to attack. If she played better it would have been a much tougher match, but it wasn't easy for me - it was a final," Dushevina said. "I'm very happy to win my first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title. I've played three finals before this so finally I have a title!"
Dushevina's title run was so devastating, she also holds the honor of the least games lost en route to a title this year, with 16. Flavia Pennetta was the prior record holder for 2009, losing 24 in Palermo. Not since 2005 has anyone lost that few, the last to do so being Anna Smashnova that year (12 at Budapest).
"Before I came to Istanbul, I lost early in Portoroz, and I wasn't very excited about playing again this week. I was upset, and I didn't come here thinking I could win," Dushevina continued. "It was a tough tournament with a lot of top players, so I'm very happy I was able to win the title."
Hradecka is now 0-3 herself in Tour singles finals, also having finished runner-up at Bad Gastein last year and Strasbourg this year.
"I slept well today, until 1pm, but maybe it wasn't enough because I still feel tired," Hradecka said. "Vera played very well today though. She didn't make any mistakes. Before the tournament, if somebody came and told me I'd play the final of singles and win the doubles, I'd have said they were joking."
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Singles - Final
(5) Vera Dushevina (RUS) d. (8) Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 60 61
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