Marathon slugfest decides WTA title

Amelie Mauresmo's win over Mary Pierce was the biggest of her career.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- Amelie Mauresmo outlasted Mary Pierce 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in a marathon baseline slugfest to win the WTA Championships on Sunday for the biggest title of her career.
Mauresmo double-faulted to trail love-40 in the final game, but rallied on five consecutive errors by Pierce in the first all-French final of the championships.
When Pierce's cross-court backhand went wide, Mauresmo fell to her knees and clapped her hands to her head as the crowd erupted in applause. She got up and met Pierce on the sideline, where they embraced and Pierce whispered in her ear and kissed Mauresmo's cheek.
For more than three hours, the women jerked each other from side to side, with Mauresmo changing up speeds and Pierce artfully using drop shots to keep each other on the run.
Mauresmo, a former world No. 1, has always been close and consistent, but fell short in winning a big title. She came closest at the 1999 Australian Open, losing in the final. She is a three-time Wimbledon semifinalist and reached the U.S. Open semis once.
At 30, Pierce is enjoying her best results in five years. She was runner-up at the French and U.S. Opens, won two titles, and will end the year at No. 5 in the world, her highest ranking since 2000.
Mauresmo, 26, will rise to No. 3 when the year-end WTA Tour rankings are released Monday, behind No. 1 Lindsay Davenport and No. 2 Kim Clijsters.
Masters Cup
SHANGHAI, China -- Not quite sure what to expect of his game, Roger Federer began his bid for a third straight Tennis Masters Cup title with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory over David Nalbandian.
Federer, recovering from a sprained ankle, was playing his first match in seven weeks and moved smoothly against the eighth-seeded Argentine in the season-ending championship. In the day's other match, sixth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia defeated fourth-seeded Guillermo Coria of Argentina 6-2, 6-3. Ljubicic, making his Masters Cup debut, has reached the final in four of his last five tournaments.
The other group in the elite eight-player field -- Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Nicolay Davydenko and Gaston Gaudio -- begin play tonight.
Federer is attempting to match the three consecutive season-ending titles of Ivan Lendl (1985-87). Pete Sampras won three, the last in 1999, when it was known as the ATP Tour World Championships.
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