Tulyaganova wins gold for Uzbekistan


Reuters
October 11

Uzbekistan's Iroda Tulyaganova demolished top seed Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 6-1 6-3 to win gold in the women's tennis singles at the Asian Games Friday.

The world number 45 relied on her big serve and heavy top-spin groundstrokes to keep the pressure on the 31st-ranked Tamarine in a one-sided final at Gumjong Stadium.

Tulyaganova attacked the Thai's serve from the start, winning nine out of the first 10 games, while Tamarine failed to hold serve until the fifth game of the second set.

The second seed, who served seven aces in a convincing display, closed out the match with an overhead put-away after just 69 minutes on court.

The 20-year-old Tulyaganova, who is set to play doubles with former world number one Martina Navratilova next season, has won three singles titles on the WTA tour.

"It has been a difficult season because I have had some trouble with a knee injury. But I came here to do a job and I got the gold that I wanted," said Tulyaganova.

Uzbek team mate Oleg Ogorodov had less to celebrate, however, as he went down 6-3 6-3 to world number 28 Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand in the semi-finals of the men's singles.

Happy Iroda Uzbekistan's Oleg Ogorodov smashes the ball against Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan during a semifinal match of the men's singles tennis competition at the 14th Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 11, 2002. Srichaphan goes on to final after defeating Ogorodov 6-3, 6-3. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) Victory at Asian Games