Jelena Dokic beats Lucie Safarova

Jelena Dokic beats Lucie Safarova to lift BMW Malaysian Open 2011 title.

Former world number four Jelena Dokic of Australia ended her nine-year title drought by defeating the fifth seed Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic in the final of the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

The 27-year-old veteran won her sixth Women’s Tennis Association title in a three-set thriller, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in 2 hours and 41 minutes. The Australian showed her vintage fight to bounce back from being one set down in the final.

Dokic was on the brink of defeat in the second set tiebreaker when she had to face two championship points. She showed her exemplary skills and sheer determination to fight her opponent and take the match away from her. “Lucie beat so many good players to reach the final this week,” said the Aussie winner in her post match reviews.

“I don't know where I pulled it out from today but I did. I even surprised myself.” Playing her first WTA final since 2003, Dokic was sluggish to start. Safarova took the initiative and capitalised upon the weakness of her opponent. The Czech failed to sustain the momentum she got at the start, resulting in a loss of championship later.

The 24-year-old Czech outperformed her Aussie opponent in most segments of the game, yet she failed to win. Her serve per cent was 64 for the match, including 6 aces and 9 double faults. Although Dokic cracked 13 aces, yet she spilled 11 double faults in the contest. She won 110 points in the match with Safarova bagging 116.

Safarova met Dokic’s sloppy start with aggression. The fifth seed broke early in the opener, leading 3-1. She won 75 per cent of her serve points to pressurise her opponent. The Czech successfully saved two break opportunities in the opening set and stung another break point to seal the first set at 6-2.

Taking the opener convincingly, Safarova carried her momentum in the following set. Dokic belted nine aces in the set but coughed five expensive double faults. Taking advantage of Dokic’s relatively poor serve, the Czech raced away to a 5-3 lead in the second set.

It appeared as if there was nothing left for Dokic in the game but an abrupt momentum swing in the ninth game changed the course of the game. The Aussie broke her competitor’s serve to level the match at 6-6, enforcing a tiebreaker. Safarova looked strong in the tiebreaker as well and got championship points at 6-5 and then at 8-7.

A forehand miss denied her on both occasions and Dokic stung a mini-break to take the second set at 7-6. With both women winning one set a piece, the decider was bound to be a thriller. Safarova gathered her pace to lead 3-1 in the third set as well. Dokic bounced back amazingly to win four of the next five games to lead 5-4.

The Aussie concluded the contest on her third match point with a powerful service winner. Dokic is projected to enter the top 60 players’ list this week with her triumph.