Schalken and Halard-Decugis Win Tokyo Finals
October 16, 2000 - 0:0
TOKYO Dutchman Sjeng Schalken retained his perfect record in finals when he beat Nicolas Lapentti 6-4 3-6 6-1 to win the Japan Open on Sunday.
Schalken now has a 5-0 record in finals after picking up his first title of the year and a check for $115,000.
French top seed Julie Halard-Decugis won the women's title despite committing some 100 unforced errors in a sloppy 5-7 7-5 6-4 victory over defending title-holder American Amy Frazier.
Through the week, the 12th-seeded Schalken played a consistent game from the baseline, upsetting Australian number three seed Mark Philippoussis in the quarterfinals and number eight Hicham Arazi of Morocco in the semifinals before beating the fourth-seeded Lapentti.
"It was a very tough match but at the end I was on top and I am very happy with the result," Schalken said.
Schalken, number 50 in the champions race, took control of the first set when he broke Lapentti in the ninth game. Two unforced errors and a double fault from the Ecuadorean combined with a masterful top spin lob over his opponent's head gave Schalken the game and a 5-4 lead.
In the second set, Lapentti played aggressively from the baseline as he broke Schalken in the second game and then rode out the set.
In the third set, the two players exchanged early service breaks but Schalken took control of the match when he broke Lapentti, number 21 in the champions race, in the fourth game.
Halard-Decugis fended off championship points in the second set to beat the one-dimensional Frazier, whose baseline game was also peppered with mistakes.
The French veteran took the Japan Open doubles crown on Saturday paired with American Corina Morariu. Sunday's victory was her 12th singles title.
"I am tired but it is a good tiredness," she said.
Halard-Decugis had trouble landing her first serve throughout the match but she kept up the pressure by attacking her opponent's own weak second serve.
In the final set, Halard-Decugis broke frazier twice. The American served 19 double faults in the match, including one in the final game.
The women's singles crown brought Halard-Decugis $27,000.
(Reuter)
Schalken now has a 5-0 record in finals after picking up his first title of the year and a check for $115,000.
French top seed Julie Halard-Decugis won the women's title despite committing some 100 unforced errors in a sloppy 5-7 7-5 6-4 victory over defending title-holder American Amy Frazier.
Through the week, the 12th-seeded Schalken played a consistent game from the baseline, upsetting Australian number three seed Mark Philippoussis in the quarterfinals and number eight Hicham Arazi of Morocco in the semifinals before beating the fourth-seeded Lapentti.
"It was a very tough match but at the end I was on top and I am very happy with the result," Schalken said.
Schalken, number 50 in the champions race, took control of the first set when he broke Lapentti in the ninth game. Two unforced errors and a double fault from the Ecuadorean combined with a masterful top spin lob over his opponent's head gave Schalken the game and a 5-4 lead.
In the second set, Lapentti played aggressively from the baseline as he broke Schalken in the second game and then rode out the set.
In the third set, the two players exchanged early service breaks but Schalken took control of the match when he broke Lapentti, number 21 in the champions race, in the fourth game.
Halard-Decugis fended off championship points in the second set to beat the one-dimensional Frazier, whose baseline game was also peppered with mistakes.
The French veteran took the Japan Open doubles crown on Saturday paired with American Corina Morariu. Sunday's victory was her 12th singles title.
"I am tired but it is a good tiredness," she said.
Halard-Decugis had trouble landing her first serve throughout the match but she kept up the pressure by attacking her opponent's own weak second serve.
In the final set, Halard-Decugis broke frazier twice. The American served 19 double faults in the match, including one in the final game.
The women's singles crown brought Halard-Decugis $27,000.
(Reuter)