Dinara Safina Triumphs at Banka Koper Slovenia Open 2009
28.07.2009
The thrilling final on Sunday provided the best possible finish for the Adriatic stop of the WTA Tour - the 5th Banka Koper Slovenia Open tournament. In what turned out to be the longest match of the entire event, tournament favourite and top-seeded player Dinara Safina struggled for an extraordinary 173 minutes to prevail over her final opponent Sara Errani.
Although the Russian world no. 1 started the match as the favourite, the first set was won 7-6 (5) by the Italian defending champion after an extended play. This opening act took 90 minutes and was followed by a swift second set, in which Safina caught up and won 6-1.
Despite seeking medical assistance for a minor hip injury, Errani regained momentum in the third set and proved to be a tough opponent, but finally had to admit defeat. Dinara Safina won the match 6-7 (5), 6-1 and 7-5.
"It was a very dramatic match. I did not play the way I should have and Sara was excellent today," said the champion after the match. During the closing ceremony, Safina thanked the organisers and spectators for welcoming her with open arms and stressed the role of Banka Koper: "I've had a wonderful week. I felt great in Portorož and I really wanted to win this tournament to give something back to the crowds. Thank you to all the spectators who cheered me on this week, to the tournament director and to Banka Koper for making this event possible. See you again next year!"
Dinara Safina's well-deserved and difficult win made for the perfect ending to this sports event, sponsored by our bank for the fifth consecutive year. Changes in organisational rules made it possible for us to invite some of the highest-ranking players in the world to Portorož, even in the first year of the tournament. We joined efforts with the event organisers to make the most of this opportunity and were highly successful from the first year on. Compared with last year, the number of visitors in 2009 increased by 45% and the tournament was regularly followed by all major media in Slovenia and the neighbouring countries. Reporters from Italy and Croatia reported news from the tournament every day.
This is the fifth consecutive Banka Koper Slovenia Open. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour commended us on our excellent co-operation and awarded a commemorative plaque to the organisers to celebrate the tournament's fifth anniversary. Our successful co-operation is certain to continue in the years to come; this tournament is undoubtedly the most important summer sports event in Slovenia and the amount of worldwide attention it receives makes all the hard work of local organisers worthwhile. This message was e-mailed to the organisers by a journalist writing for La Nacion, a Paraguay daily:
"Thank you very much.
Very nice tournament."
Simple and from the heart.
See you again next year at the 6th annual tournament from July 19th to 25th 2010!
