TENNIS in DEPTH.

Nadia Petrova swept past Kirsten Flipkens to seal her place in the semi-finals of the Korea Open in Seoul.

The top-seeded Russian cruised to a 6-2 6-1 success over her Belgian opponent on Friday.

Petrova broke serve five times on her way to victory in just over an hour.

Alisa Kleybanova, the fifth seed, was an equally comprehensive winner, seeing off fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-2.

Kleybanova will now play Agnes Szavay, who made it three seeds in the last four as the eighth-seeded Hungarian saw off Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm 6-2 6-7 (3/7) 6-3.

Klara Zakopalova, of the Czech Republic, was a 7-5 6-3 winner over wildcard and former world number one Dinara Safina in the other last-eight tie.

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Agnes Szavay of Hungary claimed a women’s tennis title for the second straight week Sunday by capturing the the Prague Open in three sets.

Hot on the heels of her victory last week at Budapest, Szavay defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 to also win the Prague event, her fifth career WTA Tour crown.

Szavay won the first set easily, breaking serve in the opening game. Zahlavova Strycova, however, battled back in the second set, winning six straight games.

Szavay responded by dominating the final set after an early break of serve by Zahlavova Strycova. She has now posted 10 straight matches since losing in the first round of Wimbeldon to Ekaterina Makarova.

Zahlavova Strycova was appearing in her first career WTA

final.

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Eighth seed Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova of Czech Republic will face seventh seed Agnes Szavay tomorrow in the ECM Prague Open final after cruising past Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder in their semi-final today.

The 24-year-old Zahlavova-Strycova secured her first WTA Tour final appearance with a comprehensive 6-2 6-0 triumph over her experienced Swiss opponent.

Szavay also enjoyed a straight-sets victory and ensured it would not be an all-Czech final by overcoming Lucie Hradecka 6-2 6-4 in the second semi-final.

The 21-year-old will be bidding for a fifth WTA title in the Czech capital tomorrow.

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Agnes Szavay of Hungary again thrilled the home crowd by defeating Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder in the final of the Budapest Grand Prix for the second straight year.

Szavay posted a 6-2, 6-4 victory on Sunday for her fourth career WTA Tour title and her first since claiming this tournament last year with a three-set win over Schnyder.

The seventh-seeded Szavay dominated the first set Sunday with a pair of breaks and staved off two break chances by Schnyder. After a trade of breaks early in the second set, Szavay broke again for a 5-4 lead and held at love to finish the match.

Szavay improved to 4-2 all-time in WTA finals, while Schnyder dropped to 11-15.

The 31-year-old Schnyder had lost in the first round at both of her previous two events — the French Open and Wimbledon — before this week’s run through the draw. She hasn’t won a title since Bali in 2008.

This was the third all-time meeting between Szavay and Schnyder. After last year’s title match in Budapest, the two also met in the first round of the Madrid Open in May and Schnyder prevailed when Szavay was forced to retire in the first set because of a right hamstring injury.

Szavay earned a first prize of $37,000.

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German Julia Goerges has beaten Aleksandra Wozniak for the second time on clay, after crushing the third-seeded Canadian 6-1, 6-1 in just 49 minutes on her tournament debut.

Goerges, 21, hit five aces and converted six of nine break point opportunities to snap a four-match losing streak. She also beat Wozniak in straight sets on the clay of Warsaw last year.

Latvian Anastasija Sevastova avenged her Sydney defeat to Szavay in January, with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in one hour and 55 minutes. The 20-year-old Sevastova improved to a 13-9 mark on the year.

Szavay, who has been a consistent performer this year with three quarter-final exits at Paris (l. to Oudin), Acapulco (l. to Hercog) and Monterrey (l. to Cibulkova), had her serve broken seven times.

Seventh seed Shaui Peng wasted little time in beating Julie Coin of France 6-2, 6-2 in 73 minutes for a second round clash against German Tatjana Malek, a 6-4, 7-5 victor over Klaka Zakopalaova in 86 minutes. Peng converted four of 13 break point opportunities to record her ninth win of the year.

Former junior World No. 1 Kirsten Flipkens, competing at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour International event for the third time, won 70 per cent of service points to beat eighth seed Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-1, 6-3 in 56 minutes. She improved to a 12-8 season record.

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Melanie’s magical moment’s gain momentum as she moves into the semi final with a come-from-behind win over Hungarian Agnes Szavay 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. It looked as though she had left her ‘A’ game back in her hotel room as Szavay roared into a 5-1 lead in the first set. Nothing was working for Oudin as she frantically called for her Dad to come to her rescue. I have no idea what he said to her, whether he offered some tactical insight into Szavay’s game or whether he jusr gave his daughter some reassurance. Whatever it was, it worked. From being down a set and at 0-2 in the second set, the young American never looked back.

She will meet Elena Dementieva in the semi final, and with the confidence she is enjoying it will be anyone’s game.

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There must be something in the air in Paris that suits Melanie Oudin. She recorded her 4th. win in a row as she easily defeated veteran Patty Schnyder 6-1, 6-3 to take her place in the quarter finals in a match that lasted just about an hour. Though she isn’t the biggest server on tour, by a long way, she never lost her serve and only faced one break point.

Next up for Melanie will be Agnes Szavay of Hungary who defeated Petra Martic 6-2, 6-4. If she makes into the semi final she will likely meet the #1 seed Elena Dememtieva…..a player she beat during her miracle run at the 2009 US Open.

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Agnes Szavay made a triumphant return to the winner’s circle in front of her home crowd on Sunday, beating Patty Schnyder in a see-saw three-setter to win the GDF SUEZ Grand Prix title in Budapest.

Though she was seeded No.4, Szavay barely made it past Tathiana Garbin in the second round, as the Italian veteran – a former winner here, in 2000 – served for the match at 5-4 in the third set. But the 20-year-old survived to win, 76(2) 57 75, and had few other problems en route to the final, where the No.1 seed, Schnyder, was hungry for her own return to the winner’s circle.

“My match with Tathiana was really tough. It was a great fight – at the end I was just fighting like a tiger, that was the difference, I think,” Szavay said. “It wasn’t about the tennis in that match. I was so close to losing.”

Szavay’s big serve and powerful groundstrokes didn’t work so well in the first set, as the 30-year-old Schnyder had no trouble outrallying her and taking a one set lead, 6-2. But the tides turned as Szavay began finding her range, and the home crowd favorite eventually prevailed, 26 64 62, for the third Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title of her career, and the first since September 2007.

“In the first set I wasn’t playing so well. I was so nervous and tight, and I couldn’t play my game,” Szavay said on the final. “But then I called my coach to the court and he made me laugh. I relaxed and started to play much better.

“It feels great to win here. The crowd was supporting me the whole week. It was a lot of pressure, but on the other hand, they were supporting me so much even when I wasn’t playing so well. I won my last title a long time ago so this win feels great, especially because it’s in Hungary. I played so badly here last year and didn’t expect to win this year, so I’m really happy with what happened.”

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