Top seed Anna Chakvetadze defeated seventh-seeded Agnes Szavay 6-3 2-6 6-2 and became the Open Gaz de France champion for the first time in her career.

With this victory, the Russian extended her perfect career record in finals to 7-0.

At tomorrow's new ranking, Anna Chakvetadze will be one spot higher, at No.6, while Agnes Szavay will reach No.18 for the first time in her career (if she had won the tournament in Paris she would have become world No.17).

On her way to the title Chakvetadze defeated three home favorites Nathalie Dechy, Amelie Mauresmo and Marion Bartoli, and of course Hungarian Agnes Szavay in today’s final.

The titlist Chakvetadze collected $95,500, while Szavay earned $51,000. I hope the prize won’t bring back the thieves to Chakvetadze. (photo via Yahoo!)

Hungarian teenager Agnes Szavay and top seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia will battle for the Open Gaz the France title in Sunday's final.

In today's semis seventh-seeded Szavay, who won her first two singles titles (Palermo and Beijing) and reached the US Open quarterfinals last year, defeated Elena Dementieva 6-3 1-6 7-5. Chakvetadze advanced to the title match with a 2-6 6-2 6-0 win over local favorite Marion Bartoli. Bartoli made a promising start but then collapsed against Chakvetadze, who made her breakthrough last year by winning four titles and reaching the US Open semifinals. Read more »

Agnes Szavay of Hungary beat Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 7-6 6-1 to advance to the semifinals of the Open Gaz de France in Paris.

Second-seeded Hantuchova took a 4-1 lead in the first set, but seventh-seeded Szavay recovered and eventually took the tiebreak 7-4. In the second game of the second set Hantuchova received treatment on her right hand and had it bandaged. After that, she lost five consecutive games, and hence the match, but she refused to blame the defeat solely on the injury.

"My hand was hurting, it's true, but that's not an excuse," said Hantuchova. "My opponent played really well."

In the semifinals of the Tier II tournament in Paris, Szavay will face Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva, who advanced with a 7-5 6-2 win over Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko. (source: Reuters)

Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli and Hungarian sensation Agnes Szavay lost in the first round of the Australian Open. I didn't expect these two members of the top 20 to leave Melbourne so early.

No.10 seed Marion Bartoli, France’s best-ranked WTA player, lost to world No.80 Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.

As for Agnes Szavay, the 2008 Australian Open was her first, but no one expected her to say goodbye so early. She started the last year ranked 185th and by the end of it she was in the top 20 with two titles and a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open. Still, the Fila-clad Hungarian, seeded 20th at the Aussie Open, lost to world No.110 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Other seeds to fall on day 2 were No.16 Dinara Safina and No.22 Lucie Safarova. (photo via Getty Images)

Fila has signed an endorsement agreement with rising tennis star Agnes Szavay. The agreement signals Fila's on-going commitment to tennis as a core category and continues the company's legacy of sponsoring elite tennis champions.

In 2008, world No.19 Szavay will debut Fila's tennis performance collection which was inspired by Fila's tennis fashions from the 70s, in a striking red, black and white color palette at the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old Hungarian is definitely a good choice, we will see a lot of her in the future. In 2007 Szavay impressed us winning two singles titles (Palermo and Beijing), reaching the final in New Haven, and advancing to the US Open quarterfinal.

Additional info: In an exhibition match held in Budapest, Agnes Szavay defeated Ana Ivanovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. (Marketwire via On the Baseline, photo via Tennis Turkye)

World No.6 Ana Ivanovic and world No.20 Agnes Szavay are scheduled to play an exhibition match in Hungary on December 10. The match will be the best of three sets, with a first-to-10 Super Tiebreak replacing a traditional third set.

Hungarian teenager Szavay, who works with Ivanovic's former coach Zoltan Kuharsky, won the China Open last week and cracked the top 20 on Monday.

The clash of these two players promises a highly entertaining match. (via The Ana Ivanovic website)

Hungarian teenager Agnes Szavay staged an astonishing comeback from a set and 5-1 down to beat world number three Jelena Jankovic 6-7 7-5 6-2 in an enthralling China Open final on Sunday.

Jankovic appeared to be cruising to the title after winning a tough first set in a tiebreak and then storming to a 5-1 lead in the second. But the 18-year-old Szavay took advantage when Jankovic began to show signs of fatigue, winning six consecutive games to snatch the second set. The sixth seed then dominated the last set to wrap up the title in three hours. Read more »

Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic took revenge against Lindsay Davenport on Saturday by beating her in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the China Open final in Beijing.

The two players had faced each other earlier this month at the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, and then Davenport stunned top-seeded Jankovic 6-4 2-6 6-2. Eventually, the American was the champion of the tournament winning her fifty-second career title.

However, Jelena Jankovic is now on the way to her fifth title of the season. In the China Open final, the Serb will face Hungarian rising star Agnes Szavay, who has played the best tennis of her career over the past two months, finishing as the runner-up in New Haven and as a quarterfinalist at the US Open.

The 18-year-old Szavay, seeded sixth in Beijing, reached the final with a solid 6-1 6-2 victory over Peng Shuai of China. (source: On the Baseline)

Hungarian Agnes Szavay, ranked 31st in the world, defeated seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-4 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the 2007 US Open.

Petrova had treatment for a left hip injury late in the first set but she was outplayed by Szavay, who is celebrating her biggest success at a Grand Slam so far.

The 18-year-old Hungarian caught the attention of the tennis audience last week when she played in the final of the Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Schick in New Haven. Unfortunately, she had to retire from that match due to a back injury.

At the US Open, Agnes Szavay will next face world No.50 Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine.

Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia won her first title this season when qualifier Agnes Szavay of Hungary retired with a back injury Saturday while leading 6-4, 0-3 at the Pilot Pen.

Agnes Szavay missed an opportunity to become the first qualifier to win a Tier I or Tier II tournament in WTA recorded history. The 18-year-old Hungarian was the third player to withdraw when playing against the Russian at the Pilot Pen — Francesca Schiavone dropped out with an ankle injury in the third round, while in the semifinal Elena Dementieva had to retire due to an upset stomach. Could this be called the Curse of Kuznetsova?

World number four Sveta had lost four other finals this year — at Doha, Indian Wells, Berlin and Rome. Now she will head to the US Open as the fourth seed. (via Sports Illustrated, Women Who Serve)