Slovakia's Nagyova upstages Majoli to claim crown

Slovakia's Nagyova upstages Majoli to claim crown
Agencies

Kuala Lumpur, November 12 : Slovakia's Henrieta Nagyova cruised to an easy win over Iva Majoli of Croatia to win the Wismilak International WTA tennis tournament here on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Nagyova thrashed Majoli 6-4, 6-2 to grab her third Sanex WTA Tour title of the year and walked away with a cheque for $ 27,000.Majoli gained an early advantage as she took a 2-0 lead when her Slovak opponent double-faulted, but was unable to maintain her challenge.In a battle of long and furiously contested baseline rallies, Nagyova held the edge with a faster and more reliable serve, often forcing errors from Majoli.

Rafter reaches final
LYON:Patrick Rafter mowed down Hicham Arazi 6-3,6-4 for a place in the final of the $ 800,000 Lyon Grand Prix as injured Andre Agassi faced a fight for fitness after quitting his match.

Agassi, the second seed playing here for the first time since a 1991 Davis Cup, was forced to give up when trailing 3-6 against Frenchman Arnaud Clement.

The 30-year-old five-time Grand Slam winner said he felt a sharp pain in his right hip early in the match and realised with each passing game that he could not go on.

Hingis wins
VILLANOVA (PENNSYLVANIA): Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport, the top two players in the World, produced dominant performances in semi-final victories on Saturday at the $ 535,000 Advanta championships and will meet in the tournament final for the third time in the last four years.Top-ranked Hingis defeated fourth-seed Nathalie Tauziat of France 6-1, 6-2 to reach her 12th tournament final of the year.

Davenporttook just 50 minutes to dispatch third seed Conchita Martinez of Spain 6-0 6-1.