Sugiyama in Scottsdale final to meet Clijsters

Scottsdale, Arizona
By Etienne Stekelenburg
March 2 2003

Japanese Ai Sugiyama will meet Belgian Kim Clijsters in the Scottsdale State Farm Women’s Classic final. Sugiyama defeats Alexandra Stevenson after saving three matchpoints in three sets. The match, postponed due to rain, ended in three sets and Sugiyama could win her fourth WTA career title.

Alexandra Stevenson was on her way to win the match but failed to utilize her three match points. Ai Sugiyama didn’t know how she pulled this one out of the fire to overcome three match points. She said she just attacked the points one by one and didn’t think of what the score was, she didn’t lose her concentration but she won the points.

The 27 years-old Japanese did make clear that she played well throughout the whole match but that she had her bad moments as well. She is really looking forward in playing the final against Kim Clijsters and has an attempt at her fourth WTA Tour title.

It didn’t turn out to be a high standard match but more a thrilling match where both players had the chance to pull out the victory. Sugiyama showed that she has the power to recover after being behind and out of the match.

With Stevenson, who committed 83 unforced errors in the match, serving for the match at 6-4 in the third set tiebreaker Sugiyama hits a passing shot at Stevenson who was on her way to the net, who wasted her first match point after she hits the ball into the net.

At match point number 2 at 6-5 Stevenson saw the ball passing her after the Japanese hits a well-placed inside-out backhand winner. At the third match point Stevenson wasted her chance for the final after she missed a fairly easy backhand at 7-6.

Ai Sugiyama took her first chance to win the tiebreak and served well into Stevenson’s body who was not able to return the ball and lost the thriller, 6-7 6-2 7-6.

“I can’t believe that I lost, I should have walked away as the winner but I just handed the match to her” said Stevenson who also received a warning for coaching at 3-3 in the third set. “ I screwed it up and I played dumb,” concluded a disappointed Alexandra Stevenson.