Kaia Kanepi wins Estoril Open 2012 title

Kaia Kanepi wins Estoril Open 2012 title

Kaia Kanepi defeated Carla Suarez Navarro 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 to win the Estoril Open 2012 title.

Suárez Navarro claimed the opening set and built a 5-3 lead in the second set. She hadtwo match points in the tie-break but Kanepi was able to save them and sent the match into the decider.

The Spaniard led 4-2 in the third but but again Kanepi came alive, and prevailed in two hours and 37 minutes.

"I've won a few matches from match points down but I've never won a final like this," Kanepi said. "I'll remember this final in a good way for a long time.

"This title means a lot. I was injured and it was tough to come back. And though my fitness trainer was with me here, I quit with my coach recently, so it means a lot I did this on my own. But that doesn't mean I don't need a coach now!"

Stepping onto the clay, the surface on which she reached her first WTA title, didn't hurt either. "I was looking forward to the clay court season. As a junior I grew up on clay, so I like this surface a lot. But I didn't play my best tennis today, and I definitely still have some things I want to work on and improve."

"I was a point away, but Kaia played really well and credit to her for the way she recovered," the Spaniard said. "It was a good week for me and I'm motivated to keep working and getting better. I like clay a lot. I'm looking forward to Madrid."

"I've never played on blue clay," Kanepi said of the Madrid court surface. "I'm very excited to play on it this year, and to see how good we see the ball on it!"



Source WTA/AP
AFP PHOTO/ PEDRO NUNESPEDRO NUNES/AFP/GettyImages