Schnyder wins in Thailand

This is the first time in nearly three years that Schnyder has won a tournament swissinfo.ch

Switzerland's Patty Schnyder has won the Thailand Open WTA tennis tournament after defeating Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia in straight sets.

The 22-year-old defeated her opponent, who is only one day younger than the Swiss player, 6-0, 6-4, to win the $110,000 Volvo Womens Open.

The Swiss world number 49 displayed amazing crosscourt groundstrokes to overcome her opponent, whom she had never beaten in their previous encounters.

Schnyder, who was seeded seventh, started off well, taking the opening set 6-0, while Nagyova struggled to keep the ball in the court.

Nagyova, who won the 1997 Volvo Women’s Open, gained some momentum at the start of the second set until Schnyder won three games in a row to surge ahead 5-2.

The Slovak then battled back to 4-5, however, at the crunch Schnyder proved more consistent from the base line.

Easier than expected

After the match, Schnyder said: “I thought it was going to be a tough three sets but it was easier than expected. I played well from the beginning and never let her play her game.”

Nagyova said that she had been suffering a stomach problem since Saturday and was not at the top of her game.

“But Schnyder played unbelievably. She was the one who put pressure on me,” Nagyova said.

By beating the Slovak world number 22, this is the first time in nearly three years that Schnyder has won a tournament.

The last time Schnyder tasted victory was in 1999, when she beat France’s Mary Pierce at the Gold Coast tournament in Australia.

swissinfo with agencies