Tennis: Srebotnik revels in her 'miracle'

Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik celebrates her victory in the final of the ASB Classic after defeating Shinobu Asagoe in three tight sets. Picture / Nigel Marple

Nice girls do not come last. Katarina Srebotnik yesterday won a gripping final of the ASB Classic over Japan's Shinobu Asagoe, coming from a set and 0-4 down in the second to win 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes. This followed a 150-minute thriller in the semifinal earlier.

"Miracles happen, right?" Srebotnik said following the epic.

Along the way the regular visitor to Auckland showed a humility and sportsmanship not often associated with this sport.

She smiled, laughed at her errors, applauded her opponent and, incredibly, gifted her a point when she was awarded a let at 5-5 in the first set.

It cost her the game, probably the set, but won her the fans.

"I am so overwhelmed," Srebotnik said. "I need a holiday."

She didn't have time though. Shortly after the final she had to pair up with Asagoe to face New Zealander Leanne Baker and her partner Francesca Lubiani in the doubles final. Asagoe had done Srebotnik no favours either.

"All I could do was keep running and running and running. She was so mean. In that first set, unbelievable. I just kept fighting," said Srebotnik.

Asagoe's most quotable moment of the tournament came as she missed a forehand while serving to stay in the second set.

"Aaiieee," she screamed as she saw her title slipping away. A point later Srebotnik had broken to take the game into a third set.

It was quite a comeback from Srebotnik, who had a treatment break and looked dead and buried at 0-4 down in the second set.

It looked like a day, or more particularly a week, of hard tennis had caught up with Srebotnik, while Asagoe seemed to be all the fresher for her walkover victories in the second round and quarter-final.

But from nowhere Srebotnik found the will to fight.

The unseeded Slovenian came into the year ranked 87, but was as high as No 30 11 months ago.

The victory was Srebotnik's third on the WTA Tour, while Asagoe is still waiting on her first.

It was a minor miracle the final was played yesterday.

Like every other event in New Zealand this 'summer', the ASB Classic has been at the mercy of the weather gods.

On Friday night tournament director Richard Palmer took the unprecedented step of moving the singles quarter-finals indoors.

By mid-afternoon the decision was made that no play was going to be possible outdoors so the players were taken to North Harbour Tennis Park, where the indoor surface is the same - albeit quicker - as the Stanley St courts.

This decision meant two semifinals could take place yesterday morning, enabling the programme to be finished on Saturday, rather than the organisational nightmare that would've been a Sunday final.

In the morning's semis, fourth-seed Shinobu Asagoe disposed of top seed Amy Frazier in straight sets, 7-6 (5) 6-4.

In the wasteland of the back courts, the most dramatic game of the tournament was taking place. Srebotnik took the third set of a thrilling semifinal against fifth seed Marion Bartoli 7-5, after Bartoli had clawed her way back from a set and 1-5 down in the third.

Bartoli must be annoying to play against - she takes an age between points, queries calls and has a habit of taking toilet breaks at crucial times - but she has no problem getting the crowd on her side. It must be her French diva demeanour and she was certainly acting the part following her match, leaving the court without shaking hands with the umpire, cursing in French with tears streaming down her face.

While the nice girl came first.

Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne is out of this month's Australian Open after withdrawing with a knee injury. The former world No 1 missed most of 2004 with a mystery illness, but was in Sydney to contest next week's Medibank International.