2000 Indian Wells F Corretja d Enqvist 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Sunday, 19 March, 2000, 23:03 GMT
Corretja takes Masters crown
Alex Corretja was unseded for the tournament
Unseeded Alex Corretja claimed the Indian Wells Masters series men's singles crown with a 6-4 6-4 6-3 victory over Thomas Enqvist on Sunday.
The Spaniard, who finished 1999 ranked 26th after rising to third at the end of a stellar 1998, took exactly two hours to overcome the 10th-seeded Swede, who appeared flat after his drawn out semi-final victory over 1999 champion Mark Philippoussis on Saturday evening.
"I don't know if I'm back, but if I win Indian Wells, the first Masters Series event, it shows I'm doing pretty well."-Alex Corretja
"Once you go onto the court against Thomas Enqvist in a best of five match, you know it's going to be tough," Corretja said.
"Maybe he was a little tired after his match on Saturday. Fortunately for me he made some mistakes, and I was playing some very good tennis."
Enqvist, who needed seven match points to subdue Philippoussis on Saturday, commited 51 unforced errors, finally giving up the match with a double fault on Corretja's second match point.
Enqvist commited 51 unforced errors
The 25-year-old Spaniard broke early in each of the first two sets, in the third game of the first and in the first game of the second.
Enqvist grabbed the early break in the second game of the third, but gave it right back as he netted a backhand volley.
Corretja broke in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead, Enqvist saving two break points in that game - despite three double faults - before netting a forehand.
Corretja said the victory in the $2.95m event - the first of the elite Masters Series tournaments - was special not only because of his struggles last year, but also because it confirmed that he and his fellow Spaniards are not limited to claycourt success.
"It's always special to win on hardcourts," he said. "We're claycourt specialists. Growing up in Barcelona we play always on clay.
"When we show we can win on hardcourts they have more respect for us."
It was Corretja's first victory since he won the ATP Tour World Championships at the end of 1998.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/tennis/683365.stm
Tuesday, March 21, 2000
Spaniard conquers illness to win title
INDIAN WELLS, California -- Alex Corretja signalled his re-emergence after a year battling illness with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Thomas Enqvist in the final of 2000's first Tennis Masters Series event here on Sunday.
The unseeded Spaniard, who finished 1999 ranked 26th after rising to third at the end of a stellar 1998, took exactly two hours to overcome the 10th-seeded Swede, who looked flat after a long drawn out semi-final victory over 1999 champion Mark Philippoussis on Saturday evening.
Enqvist, who needed seven match points to subdue Philippoussis on Saturday, commited 51 unforced errors, finally giving up the match with a double fault on Corretja's second match point.
Corretja, who had to win six matches in seven days to claim the title in the $2,95 million event, admitted that as Enqvist served to save the match, he was hoping for such an error.
"I was praying for him to double fault again," Corretja said.
Corretja broke early in each of the first two sets -- in the third game of the first and in the first game of the second.
Enqvist grabbed the early break in the second game of the third, but gave it right back as he netted a backhand volley.
"Even when he broke me in the third set he was not in the match anymore," Corretja said.
"He was not mentally focused in the third set. He was serving second serve, like 115mph. I knew some double faults would come."
"I was not fit enough to run around the baseline as I usually do," said Enqvist, whose left leg was sore in the wake of the Philippoussis match.
Corretja upset two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter in the second round and battled back from a 4-0 deficit in the first set against Fabrice Santoro in the third.
He went into the match prepared for a long one, but when he saved Enqvist's only break point against him in the second set with a superb backhand down the line, he started to sense he could take the Swede in straight sets.
Corretja earned the decisive break in the fifth game of the third set.
Enqvist saved two break points in that game -- despite three double faults as he sought to stay out of the tiring rallies -- before netting a forehand.
Corretja, the first Spaniard to win here since Jose Higueras in 1983, said the victory was special not only because of his struggles last year, but also because it confirmed that he and his compatriots aren't limited to claycourt success.
"It's always special to win on hardcourts," he said.
It was Corretja's first victory since he won the ATP World Championships at the end of 1998.
That year he also reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open, winning a total of five titles in seven finals.
But the hangover from so many matches and the increased demands on his time by sponsors and media, cost him in 1999 as he battled debilitating fatigue first thought to be caused by a virus.
In the end, Corretja said, what he needed most was rest and a bit of recreation with his friends, followed by a renewed commitment to the game.
This year Corretja reached the semi-finals in Sydney, hit a bit of a lull when he was ousted in the second round of the Australian Open and rebounded with a solid performance in Spain's Davis Cup first round against Italy and a run to the quarter-finals at Scottsdale, Arizona, last week. -- Sapa-AFP
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2000/03/21/sport/TENNIS.HTM