The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour had one of ferocious competition on the doubles courts with three titles at stake recently. Chuang Chia-Jung and Hsieh Su-Wei picked up their second title in as many weeks when they triumphed at the Hansol Korea Open, while Iveta Benesova and Janette Husarova emerged victorious at the FORTIS Championships Luxembourg and Peng Shuai and Yan Zi won the Jinjiannan Guangzhou International Women's Open.
First-Time Success For Benesova, Husarova In Luxembourg
Benesova and Husarova were playing their very first event together at the FORTIS Championships Luxembourg and if the No.3 seeds' spectacular championship run is anything to go by, it certainly will not be their last. The Czech-Slovak partnership were forced to come from a set down in two of their matches en route to the final, including a thrilling 26 63 107 victory over the No.2 seeds Michaella Krajicek and Vladimira Uhlirova.
On the other side of the draw, another rookie partnership was making waves in the tournament. The highly talented but unseeded pairing of Victoria Azarenka and Shahar Peer cruised into the final without dropping a set, defeating, among others, Vera Dushevina and Tatiana Perebiynis in the semifinals. There was little to separate the two teams in the first set of the final, but Benesova and Husarova made the decisive break of serve in the eighth game before taking the set two games later. The second set was a far more routine affair for the seeded partnership and after just over an hour on court they closed out the match for a 64 62 win.
Peng, Yan Enjoy Home Comforts In Guangzhou
Home favorites Peng and Yan were not only popular winners of the 2007 Jinjiannan Guangzhou International Women's Open, but they were impressive as well – the No.3 seeds did not drop a set all week. The Chinese duo first joined forces during Wimbledon at the start of the summer and has steadily improved ever since - reaching the semifinals in Beijing last week.
In the semifinals Peng and Yan comprehensively dismantled the challenge of No.2 seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, 62 61. The other final four clash saw the No.1 seeds, Vania King and Sun Tiantian, take out the No.4, Jill Craybas and Jelena Kostanic Tosic, 76(8) 62.
The final itself was a see-saw affair and after being outclassed in the opener, the top seeds then proceeded to throw away a 4-2 second set lead before eventually succumbing 63 64 to hand Peng and Yan their first title together.
Back-to-Back Titles For Team From Chinese Taipei
The Tier IV Hansol Korea Open in Korea was Chuang and Hsieh's 14th together and it saw them capture a Tour title for the second week in succession after cruising home to the title in Beijing the previous Sunday. Chuang and Hsieh, the top seeds in the Korean capital, were in imperious form all week long and their semifinal opponents Ayumi Morita and Junri Namigata were the only team to prise a set from them.
The other pairing to make the championship round was the No.2 seeds, Eleni Daniilidou and Jasmin Woehr. The Greek-German team's only previous appearance in a Tour final came at the end of last year when they were comfortably defeated by Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur in Hasselt. However, at the Olympic Tennis Courts they were once again outclassed in the championship round of a tournament and after racing to early leads in both sets Chuang and Hsieh never looked back, running out 62 62 winners.