Petrova Comes Alive in Tokyo

Having made it as high as number 3 in the world in 2006, Nadia Petrova struggled to keep up with the times as she dropped out of the world's elite and became a regular presence somewhere outside of the top 20. However, the Russian's momentarily displays of brilliance kept her in contention, making her a fierce rival for all the big guns. The problem with her is her inability to end matches and to obtain the big wins. It all changed at this week's Tokyo Pan Pacific Open though, as Nadia went all the way to winning the biggest trophy of her career.

She started strongly from the very beginning, powering her way through some tricky encounters with the likes of Chinese Shuai Peng, Romanian Simona Halep and Croat Petra Martic before having to dig deep to overcome feisty Italian Sara Errani in the quarterfinals. Having recovered from a set and 4-1 down provided the confidence boost she needed and she approached her next meeting with a totally different attitude. Facing former US Open champion, Sam Stosur, for a place in the final, Nadia was in top form. The Australian stood no chance to her opponent's powerful serves and precise groundstrokes as she bowed out 4-6,2-6 after a relatively straightforward defeat.

Playing for the most important crown of her career, Petrova was determined to not let the chance slip by and her stunning performance completely overwhelmed defending champion, Agnieszka Radwanska, who could not win a single game in the opening set. The Pole, a beaten finalist at Wimbledon this year, showed her tenacity fighting back in style, running away with the second set in a similar convincing fashion, winning it 6-1. In the decider though, the Russian regained her focus and seized the initiative when Radwanska double-faulted two times in the 8th game to hand her the vital break. Nadia went on to serve out her 12th career title and second of 2012, having disposed of Aga's younger sister, Urszula, in the s'Hertogenbosch final.

Is this victory a fluke, or it's the real deal marking Petrova's return to top form? If she can carry the winning momentum for the next couple of weeks, the Russian has a shot of battling her way back to the top 20 by the end of the season.

photo: AFP