Amanmuradova - Krajicek Final
Oct 9th, 2005

Michaella Krajicek and Akgul Amanmuradova, the two in-form and most consistent players in the tournament, continued with their impressive showing and set up a meeting in tomorrow's final of the Tashkent Open.

In semi-final action today, No 5 seed Krajicek of the Netherlands knocked out top-seeded Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 6-1, 6-3 in just under an hour while wildcard Amanmuradova took just a little longer to eliminate No 7 seed Maria Elena Camerin of Italy 6-3, 6-4. It's the first WTA final for the both players.

Bychkova has struggled to get her groundstrokes going in the tournament and relied heavily on her powerful serve to see her through the earlier matches. But the serve just wasn't enough against the all-court game of Krajicek today.

The way she's played in the tournament so far, it's hard to believe that Krajicek, sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard, is just 16. She plays with minimum fuss and there's a certain mature efficiency in the way she hits her shots and moves her opponents around court.

Krajicek broke Bychkova in the first game of the match and raced through the first set in just 20 minutes. Then there was her usual second-set stutter, she dropped serve in the first game. But today she recovered quickly and broke right back and then again in the fourth game to deny Bychkova the chance to come back into the match.

With nothing left to lose, Bychkova finally started swinging freely and started landing her groundstrokes inside the court. She played some of her most positive tennis for a spell and had a break point in the seventh game but Krajicek held on resolutely.

Said Krajicek, who has now beaten Bychkova all three times they've played so far: “Today was a very good match. I played very well and am satisfied.

“Since I've beaten her before, I was confident but I didn't think it would be so easy.”

Said Bychkova: “It was a bad day … not my day. She (Michaella) is a good player, played well, played smart.”

Asked how she felt about making her first WTA final, Krajicek replied, “Actually, I was more nervous yesterday (about winning her first quarter-final). But it's great to be there and I'm satisfied. I'm looking forward to making a match of it tomorrow.”

About Amanmuradova, her opponent tomorrow, she said: “She's serving well, it's going to be tough.”

Amanmuradova, 1.91m tall Uzbekistan No 1, has, in fact, used her serve to very good effect right through the tournament. Today, she had six aces in addition to several service winners against Camerin, who later partnered Emilie Loit of France to win the doubles title.

Said Camerin: “She served very well. I didn't have too many chances.”

The only time Camerin looked in with a chance was when she broke Amanmuradova in the third game, after having dropped her own in the second. But true to her inconsistent form in the tournament this year, she double-faulted at breakpoint in the next game.

Camerin had played a three-set doubles semi-final last evening, after her singles, but she denied being tired for today's match. “I was tired during the doubles yesterday but not this morning. I felt good,” she said.

Amanmuradova, whose confidence has grown with every match since her first-round upset of No 2 seed Alona Bondarenko, was never in trouble after that early break and didn't concede another point on serve in the set.

In the second, the story was the same. She faced a breakpoint in the sixth game but produced an ace to thwart Camerin once again.

Said Amanmuradova: “I played better that yesterday but that match (against Elena Vesnina) was tougher. Camerin looked tired, didn't hit as hard as Vesnina. I was confident and I played relaxed.”

About how she felt making her first WTA final, she replied with a big grin: “Right now I've played my first WTA semi-final and I won. I'm very happy.”

Camerin and Loit won the doubles title defeating Anastassia Rodionova and Galina Voskoboeva of Russia 6-3, 6-0 in a one-sided final.

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