OSAKA, Japan, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Tamarine Tanasugarn battled Kimiko Date Krumm for more than 3 hours Sunday before claiming the championship of the Japan Women's Open tennis tournament.
Tanasugarn, No. 94 in the world, topped the sixth-seeded Date Krumm 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 in the 3-hour, 7-minute match. It was her fourth WTA title overall but first since June 2009 when she defended her tournament championship of the tour stop in the Netherlands.
She was the fifth player this year ranked lower than 90th to win a tournament title.
Tanasugarn piled up eight service breaks, including three in the third set, overcoming four drops of serve of her own. She won 62 percent of the points in the third set, compared with 49 percent in the first two.
Date Krumm was bidding to become the first woman 40 or older to win a WTA championship. Billie Jean King was 39 years, 7 months old when she won an event in 1983 for the record as the oldest titlist. Also, at a combined age of 73, Sunday's final is thought to be the oldest WTA title pairing.
Tanasugarn claimed a first-place check for $37,000, pushing her 2010 earnings to $184,000. Date Krumm took home $19,000 and has won about $242,000 this year.
