Leanne Baker couldn't make it two finals in a row in the New Zealand Tennis Futures, losing in the semifinals of the Blenheim tournament in straight sets to fourth seed Kyung-Mi Chang of Korea.
The super-consistent Korean hit a number of winners with her powerful and flat forehand, leaving Baker swinging at thin air, on her way to a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Although disappointed with her lack of energy and aggression in the match, Baker was satisfied with her performance over the past two weeks. She considers herself a doubles player and has a current ranking of 109 in the world. The eight matches she has won in the last two weeks were the most for several years in her career.
At each of the two Futures - Wellington and Blenheim - Baker was the top Kiwi. She won Wellington and was a semifinalist in Blenheim. Next best Kiwi was Marina Erakovic in the quarters at Wellington and fellow teen, Ellen Barry, also making the Blenheim quarters.
"It was a bad day today. She (Chang) came out and played well and I didn't. She hit lots of winners," said Baker. "It's been a great two weeks but I'm disappointed in my play today, although I haven't played that many matches in a row for a long time."
Baker has a week off before returning to the WTA Tour and Tier II events at Doha (US$600,000) and Dubai (US$585,000) later this month. Chang will play third seed Mirielle Dittmann of Australia who beat top seed Lauren Breadmore (Australia) in straight sets.
- Herald on Sunday
Tennis: Semifinal loss, no two-in-a-row for Baker
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