SYBILLE BAMMER savours her moment of glory in the Pattaya Open yesterday.

Sybille Bammer of Austria created a piece of WTA history when she became the first mum to hold a WTA singles trophy for about three decades with an epic win over Argentine Gisela Dulko in the final of the US$170,000 Pattaya Women's Open yesterday.

Bammer emulated Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley, the long-limbed player with lightning reflexes who had surprised the tennis world by winning on Tour and then the game's ultimate prize, Wimbledon, in 1980, three years after giving birth to daughter Kelly.

The 500-odd fans at the Dusit Resort Hotel were ready to crown the sixth-seed Dulko, who came close to her maiden title by holding three match points at 5-3 in the decider. But Dulko rewrote her own destiny by making error after error. Bammer kept her sangfroid, displaying her mental toughness while reeling off four games en route to triumph 7-5 3-6 7-5 after two hours and 55 minutes.

In the doubles final, Nicole Pratt of Australia and Mara Santangelo of Italy won 6-4 7-6 (7-4) over Australian Open finalists Chan Yung-jan and Chua Chia-jung.

Bammer, a mother of a five-year-old girl, took 11 long years to get the breakthrough. It was hard to believe for the Austrian, who took maternity leave from the Tour for two years between 2000-2002, to finally emerge and win a trophy. A story straight out of Hollywood perhaps.

"It's one of the happiest days in my life," said the 26-year-old. "Even when I was down I kept fighting. Both of us wanted to win and in the end I was lucky," said the victor who was presented with a US$23,700 cheque.

Bammer's never-say-die attitude and dogged persistence got her through crucial situations. "She was more aggressive. I was too slow. She played really good, she made me run with her cross court shots. But I kept fighting and I won," said the left-handed Austrian, who after her next tournament in Antwerp will return home with a Barbie doll for her daughter.

Dulko, 22, was teary-eyed as she walked off the court with the runner-up prize and US$12,775 in prize money.

"It was unbelievable. In tennis you never know who will win until the last ball is hit," said the pony-tailed Argentine from Buenos Aires. "I felt a little bit disappointed. I had three match points and was so close to winning. But she made a great effort and never gave me free points."

Dulko, who was supported by a group of Argentine fans, however, took positives from her loss, which she believed would benefit her career in the future.

"I was happy that today I did the best I could. Even though I lost I felt there is still some good tennis left inside of me."

The first set started with several breaks until the Austrian held the advantage at 5-4. She had the chance to close out the first set serving at 5-4 but two successive errors allowed the Argentine to level at five. Inconsistency got the better of the Argentine again when two erratic forehands cost her the next game. At 6-5 and 40-15 on serves, the Austrian beat the South American at the net to land the 57-minute first set 7-5.

Blowing several break-point opportunities, Dulko finally broke the ice in the sixth game by applying a lob to gain the upper-hand at 4-2. She levelled the match when the Bammer returned serve to the net.

Play was suspended for 10 minutes before the two competitors returned to court. Bammer got off to a 2-0 lead but from then on she was too much on the defence and supplied short balls for the aggressive Dulko to rip several winners.

The Argentine broke in the fifth game and jumped to a 5-3 lead and had three match points. Yet she sprayed three shots long to let Bammer close the gap at 4-5.

From then on errors crept into the Argentine's game and when her forehand met the net to allow the Austrian claw back at 5-5, fans were jubilant that they were in midst of a thrilling final.

Bammer took four games in a row and closed out the match after she chased a drop shot and replied with a winner.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation

Pattaya