Scheduled Event
Kimiko Date Krumm Wins Seoul
by Ben Rothenberg on Sep 28, 2009 8:32 PM EDT
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With a surprisingly easy 6-3, 6-3 victory over #2 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, Kimiko Date Krumm secured her first WTA title in thirteen years. Despite having not won a tournament since before the world knew who Monica Lewinsky was, Date Krumm powered through the draw in Seoul, ending with an exclamation point with a straight sets victory against a top 25 opponent.
To put in perspective just how old Date is, here is a short list of some people younger than her: Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Anke Huber, Amanda Coetzer, Patrick Rafter, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanisevic, Greg Rusedski, Michael Chang, Even more surprising, she is only a few months younger than Todd Martin, who has long been older than dirt.
It's a shame she had to play so quickly after this title yesterday, as she's already lost in Tokyo, dropping a close three-setter to Aleksandra Wozniak on Monday, her thirty-ninth birthday.
Kimiko Books Date in the Final
by Ben Rothenberg on Sep 26, 2009 3:07 PM EDT
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In the same tournament in which she managed her first win at the WTA level in her almost year-long comeback, Kimiko Date Krumm will be playing on the final Sunday.
Just two days before her thirty-ninth birthday, Date Krumm defeated Maria Kirilenko in the semifinals of the Hansol Korean Open in Seoul 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The win over Kirilenko, defending champion in Seoul, followed two top-thirty scalps earlier in the tournament. Date Krumm beat fifth-seed Alisa Kleybanova 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the second round , then beat top-seed Daniela Hantuchova 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Since playing her first WTA event last fall, Date Krumm has been able to stay competitive with most everyone that she's faced, but the wins in WTA main draws haven't been coming. She took the first set off Caroline Wozniacki at Wimbledon, lost 7-5 in the third to Sabine Lisicki in Los Angeles, and 8-6 in the third to Kaia Kanepi at the Australian Open.
In the final she'll face Anabel Medina Garrigues, who she lost to last week in the first round of Guangzhou 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Should be a good final.
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