Alona Bondarenko defied the odds and won her second career singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on Saturday afternoon, upsetting Shahar Peer in the final of the Moorilla Hobart International.Bondarenko, the No.4 seed at the International-level event, had trailed 3-2 in head-to-head meetings with Peer, but this time was in control against the No.2 seed from the beginning, taking five games in a row from 1-2 to take the first set and coming back from 0-2 in the second set to win comfortably, 62 64.
"I have waited a couple of years for this title and I'm happy I won. I hope it's not the last for this year," Bondarenko said. "Shahar played great. We've played a couple of times. I've won some and lost some, but today was my day. I'm feeling good and I hope I can play well at the Australian Open."
"I am happy with my year so far," Peer said. "I played the semifinals in Auckland and the final this week. Next week I will need to raise my level of course and I hope to play better from the first match."
Bondarenko had a far tougher route to the final, as well, going to three sets twice, including in her 46 63 64 semifinal upset of No.1 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues. Peer went to three sets once in four matches, rallying from 64 42 down to beat No.5 seed Carla Suárez Navarro in the quarters, but she had an easy time in her other three wins, losing a total of just 11 games.
Bondarenko had been 1-3 in career singles finals on the Tour, which paled in comparison to Peer's 5-1 mark; but trends aren't forever.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Singles - Final
(4) Alona Bondarenko (UKR) d. (2) Shahar Peer (ISR) 62 64
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