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9/29/2001
Clijsters, Maleeva Reach Sparkassen Cup Final
LEIPZIG, Germany (Ticker) -- Kim Clijsters and Magdalena Maleeva each
battled through three-set matches Saturday to advance to the final of the $565,000
Sparkassen Cup indoor tennis event.
Clijsters, the top seed and defending champion, overcame No. 7 Elena
Dementieva of Russia for the second time in a month, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, to move into
her fifth WTA final of the year.
Sixth seed Maleeva rallied from a set down to beat second seed Nathalie Tauziat
of France, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, for just the second time in their eight lifetime meetings.
Clijsters, a native of Belgium, got the better of Russia's Elena Likhovtseva a year
ago to capture her third of four career tour titles.
On her ascent to fifth place in the WTA rankings, Clijsters won the Bank of the
West Classic hardcourt event at Stanford, California. Prior to that, she advanced
to the finals at the Tennis Masters Series at Indian Wells, the French Open and
the Heineken Trophy at 's-hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
The 19-year-old Dementieva fell short in her bid to make a second career tour
final. In March, she lost to Amanda Coetzer of South Africa in the Mexican Open
final at Acapulco.
Clijsters, 18, will face Maleeva for the first time on Sunday.
Maleeva had lost five straight matches against Tauziat before winning on
Saturday. In another three-set battle, Tauziat got the best of Maleeva in their
previous meeting in the round of 16 at San Diego last month.
Maleeva, 26, reached the Leipzig final in 1995, when she fell to local favorite
Anke Huber. She also advanced to the quarterfinals here on four occasions.
Maleeva won her eighth career tour crown in April, capturing the Budapest Open
claycourt title.
She also reach the championship match of the Terazura 2001 indoor event at
Nice, France, where she was crushed by Amelie Mauresmo.
Tauziat, the 1999 winner and 1998 runner-up here, failed to reach her third final
of the year. She won her lone title in June at the DFS Classic grasscourt
tournament in Birmingham, England.
The 33-year-old Tauziat, who will retire at the end of the season, reached at
least the semifinal stages for the sixth time this year. She beat Clijsters in straight
sets to move into the final four of the estyle.com Classic at Los Angeles last
month.
The champion takes home $90,000.
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Clijsters, Maleeva Reach Sparkassen Cup FinalClijsters, the top seed and defending champion, overcame No. 7 Elena Dementieva of Russia for the second time in a month, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, to move into her fifth WTA final of the year. Sixth seed Maleeva rallied from a set down to beat second seed Nathalie Tauziat of France, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, for just the second time in their eight lifetime meetings. Clijsters, a native of Belgium, got the better of Russia's Elena Likhovtseva a year ago to capture her third of four career tour titles. On her ascent to fifth place in the WTA rankings, Clijsters won the Bank of the West Classic hardcourt event at Stanford, California. Prior to that, she advanced to the finals at the Tennis Masters Series at Indian Wells, the French Open and the Heineken Trophy at 's-hertogenbosch, Netherlands. The 19-year-old Dementieva fell short in her bid to make a second career tour final. In March, she lost to Amanda Coetzer of South Africa in the Mexican Open final at Acapulco. Clijsters, 18, will face Maleeva for the first time on Sunday. Maleeva had lost five straight matches against Tauziat before winning on Saturday. In another three-set battle, Tauziat got the best of Maleeva in their previous meeting in the round of 16 at San Diego last month. Maleeva, 26, reached the Leipzig final in 1995, when she fell to local favorite Anke Huber. She also advanced to the quarterfinals here on four occasions. Maleeva won her eighth career tour crown in April, capturing the Budapest Open claycourt title. She also reach the championship match of the Terazura 2001 indoor event at Nice, France, where she was crushed by Amelie Mauresmo. Tauziat, the 1999 winner and 1998 runner-up here, failed to reach her third final of the year. She won her lone title in June at the DFS Classic grasscourt tournament in Birmingham, England. The 33-year-old Tauziat, who will retire at the end of the season, reached at least the semifinal stages for the sixth time this year. She beat Clijsters in straight sets to move into the final four of the estyle.com Classic at Los Angeles last month. The champion takes home $90,000.
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