Venus Williams outlasted Justine Henin 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to win the final of the Diamond Games tournament Sunday at Antwerp, Belgium.
“For me and my family this is a dream come true,” said Williams, who had a tougher-than-expected match against Henin.
“She was putting me on the run, putting me in compromising positions. She definitely could have won that match.”
Williams has won two events this season. The first also came in a final against Henin at the Gold Coast tournament in Australia.
Williams is now 4-1 lifetime against Henin, including a three-set victory in last year’s Wimbledon final.
– Thomas Enqvist came from behind to beat Nicolas Escude 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-1 to win his third Open 13 title at Marseille, France.
“I love this court,” said Enqvist, who also won the tournament in 1997 and 1998.
Escude served 19 aces to Enqvist’s 12 and led 3-2 after winning the first set.
But Enqvist won 10 of the next 11 games, sealing the victory and picking up the winner’s check worth $61,500.
Escude “was serving great, in the first two sets at least,” Enqvist said. “Once I started to read his serve, the match turned in my favor.”
– Monica Seles beat Tamarine Tanasugarn 7-6, 6-3 to win the Qatar Open at Doha.
Seles got her first victory of the year following a loss to Martina Hingis in the final of the Pan Pacific Open.
She also suffered semifinal defeats at the Australia Open and Gaz de France.
“It was a very tough match, and I just hung in there,” Seles said.
