The tournament’s number three seed, playing high-quality tennis, defeated top-seeded Vera Zvonareva, 6-3, 6-4 in one-hour and 19 minutes to win the title at the La Costa Resort and Spa.

 

The victory represented the fifth career WTA singles title for Radwanska who scored her first win over Zvonareva in three head-to-head meetings.

 

Having never taken a set off the Russian in their previous two encounters, Radwanska knew she would have to begin the match strong. Still feeling drained from the semifinal match against Ivanovic the night before, Zvonareva admitted she did not move as well as she would have liked. 

 

The first opportunity to break serve came at 0-30 in the fourth game when the Russian missed an overhead smash long. With that sole break of serve, Radwanska sealed the first set 6-3.

 

Zvonareva started the second set eager to level the match, hitting a couple drop shots to avoid long baseline rallies. “I tried a few other things to mix up a little bit my game and stuff like that, but she was pretty good at it,”  Zvonareva said. Radwanska continued to play dominating tennis by tracking down every ball the top seed hit, quickly establishing a 3-1 advantage. 

 

With both players holding serve easily thereafter, Radwanska set up her first championship point at 5-4, but missed a crosscourt backhand by the smallest of margins. A forehand error from Zvonareva ended the match on the second championship point. 

 

Radwanska has now won 9 of the last 10 matches here in Carlsbad, and has clinched her first singles title since 2008 in Eastbourne. 

 

Individual tickets are now on sale for the 2011 Mercury Insurance Open, July 30 to August 7 at the La Costa Resort and Spa.  Reserved grandstand and box seat tickets, which range from $10-$125, are now available online at mercuryinsuranceopen.com or through Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com.  Tournament ticket packages are also on sale and begin at $70.

 

The Mercury Insurance Open, a Premier 700 Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) event offering $721,000 in prize money, will feature a 56-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw in 2011. The women’s professional tennis event returned to the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad in 2010 after a two-year hiatus.  Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova won the singles title last summer when she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the final. The tournament will be televised on the Tennis Channel and ESPN 2.

 

The Mercury Insurance Open is a participating tournament in the Olympus US Open Series. The US Open Series, now in its eighth year, is a six-week summer tennis season that links 10 ATP World Tour and WTA tournaments together. The series leads into the US Open. The Mercury Insurance Open is the second women’s event within the series. For additional information about the Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center, log onto http://www.mercuryinsuranceopen.com/, join us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SDTennis) or follow frequent updates on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MercuryInsOpen).  Text “CARLSBAD” to 55333 to join the tournament’s VIP text club and receive up-to-the-minute news, tournament information and player announcements right on your mobile device. Standard text message rates apply.   

              

About Mercury Insurance

Mercury Insurance (MCY) is a multiple-line insurance organization predominantly offering personal automobile and homeowners insurance through a network of independent agents and brokers in California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, New York, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Founded in 1962, Mercury specializes in providing quality insurance at affordable prices – core values that distinguish Mercury in the marketplace. For more information about Mercury Insurance, visit www.mercuryinsurance.com.

 

About Tri-City Medical Center

Tri-City Medical Center is a Joint Commission gold seal accredited, full-service, acute care hospital with three advanced clinical institutes and physicians practicing in 60 specialties. Administered by the Tri-City Healthcare District which includes Oceanside, Vista and most of Carlsbad, Tri-City is celebrating 50 years caring for the community. For more information about Tri-City Medical Center, please visit www.tricitymed.org. 

 

About Octagon Tennis

Octagon’s history and tradition in tennis dates back nearly 40 years. Octagon has played an important role in the globalization of professional tennis. Our long-standing reputation for integrity is the foundation of our leadership position in the industry. Our mission is to serve as the pre-eminent management and marketing agency worldwide for the representation of tennis players. For more information, visit www.octagontennis.com.