Tanasugarn spoils Date Krumm’s record, wins historic Osaka final

Tamarine Tanasugarn claimed her fourth Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title in a historic HP final in Osaka against Kimiko Date Krumm. The final was special because it was the oldest known women’s final in history where the combined age of players was 73, and also because 40-year-old Date Krumm, who upset top seed Samantha Stosur in the quarters and became the first 40-something player to defeat a Top 10 player, was bidding to become the oldest player to win a WTA singles title and nowhere other than in her home country of Japan.

However, the huge Japanese celebration was not meant to be and 33-year-old Tanasugarn beat sixth-seeded Date Krumm 7-5 6-7(4) 6-1. The Thai No.1 was leading 7-5 3-1 when Japanese No.1 fought back to take the match to the third set before having her serve broken twice in the decider and losing the match after three hours and seven minutes.

The 94th-ranked Tanasugarn, who surprisingly reached the final with an upset of second seed Marion Bartoli in the semis, earned $37,000 with the HP Open title. Her previous three titles include two titles at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and one at Hyderabad.