By ALLON SINAITzipi Obziler 298.88(photo credit: Courtesy Photo)
Tzipi Obziler won the biggest tournament of her career on Sunday after her opponent Frenchwoman Camille Pin retired in the second set of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic final in Washington, DC.
With the victory in the $75,000 ITF tournament, the 33-year-old climbed 44 spots in the WTA rankings and is now No. 139 in the world.
"I had a very tough week that ended very well," Obziler said after the win. "This is a result of all the preparation I did before coming here."
Obziler began the match poorly and trailed Pin 5-3 in the first set before battling back to win four consecutive games to take the set 7-5.
The second set developed in a similar way to the first as the Frenchwoman once again opened a promising lead. Pin seemed to be on her way to levelling the match at a set apiece as she took a 5-2 lead, but a groin strain in the eighth game forced her to retire and handed Obziler the title.
As well as soaring up the rankings, Obziler also takes home $11,400 for her efforts in Washington.
Shahar Pe'er and doubles partner Marion Bartoli were getting ready for a difficult first round match in the first round of the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles. The Israeli-French team faced No. 3 seeds Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama later Monday.
In the singles, Pe'er hopes to get past Shuai Peng. The Israeli teen climbed to No. 25 in the latest WTA rankings and will want to avenge her defeat to Peng in the second round at Wimbledon.
Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich, who climbed to sixth in the ATP doubles race on Monday, are also in action this week at the Masters series event in Toronto.
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