Frenchwoman upsets the odds to take Madrid Open title
Aravane Rezai produced a stunning upset at the Madrid Open as she defeated Venus Williams 6-2 7-5 to claim the title.
The unseeded Frenchwoman had earlier beaten world number four Jelena Jankovic in the Spanish capital and repeated the dose by downing American Williams in an hour and three quarters in Sunday's final.
23-year-old Rezai denied fourth seed Williams a tenth clay court title by taking five games on the spin in the second set to seal the victory.
Rezai, from St Etienne, collected a third WTA Tour success after winning in Strasbourg and Bali, but defeating the soon-to-be world number two marks the biggest success of her career.
Williams will still move up into second in the world rankings on Monday and both performances will stand the pair in good stead heading into the French Open later this month.
Respect
"I just cannot believe this," said Rezai.
"She played very well and I've always respected her as a player and a champion. I just tried my best today and it worked well for me."
The hard-hitting Rezai broke Williams in the third and seventh games to power away with the first set after confidently serving it out to love.
It was a convincing start by Rezai, but she needed to dig deep during the second set to stage a remarkable fightback as she trailed 4-1 and then 5-2.
Williams, with a 12-1 record on the clay, then had five set points on the Rezai serve at 5-4, only for the Frenchwoman to fend them all off before breaking Williams in the very next game.
That led to here grabbing all of the momentum and Rezai held her nerve in style as she served it out to claim a third WTA Tour title.
