Pierce beats sluggish Seles to take Kremlin Cup

Oct 26: Mary Pierce overcame a sluggish Monica Seles in a battle of two hard-hitting baseliners 7-6 6-3 today to win the Kremlin Cup and ...

Oct 26: Mary Pierce overcame a sluggish Monica Seles in a battle of two hard-hitting baseliners 7-6 6-3 today to win the Kremlin Cup and its $165,000 first prize.

Pierce, making her Moscow debut this year, came back from3-0 deficit in the first set with a steady game from the baseline to force a tie-break.

She then raced to a 6-1 lead in the tie-break before claiming the first set.

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"I’m a slow starter and it took me five games before I felt comfortable," said the fifth-seeded French woman.

Seles, also playing in Moscow for the first time, came out strong but was unable to sustain the effort.

“I came out really good but then became very sluggish,” said the second seed, who had beaten Pierce five times in their six previous matches.

The Frenchwoman had three match points at 5-3 up but needed only one, taking the title with a thumped forehand drive down the line after one hour and 32 minutes of battle.

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“It’s always feels great to win a tournament, especially after I’ve been struggling in thelast few weeks,” said Pierce who had not won a tournament since April.

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