The Independent Posted : October 2, 2005
By Mark Maynard

ASHLAND Kristina Brandi and Napaporn Tongsalee had never crossed paths on the women's professional tennis tour.

But during this week's $50,000 Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital Tennis Classic, they were house guests of Dr. Jerry Mayer and today they're squaring off in the championship match at the Ashland Tennis Center.

Tongsalee and Brandi will meet after the doubles championship match that starts at 1 p.m.

"We're staying at the same house and we've hit some together," Tongsalee said. "It should be fun."

Brandi, the No. 2 seed and a veteran of several Challenger tournaments in her career, will have experience on her side. Tongsalee, a surprise finalist who came into the tourament ranked No. 333, is playing in a championship for the first time.

"I've never played her and never seen her play," Brandi said. "This is the first week I've come across her. But I can tell she's good. All these girls out here are good."

Brandi defeated Tara Snyder 6-1, 6-4 in the first match on Saturday morning and then watched Tongsalee surprise top-seeded Amy Frazier 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Tongsalee was trying not to let nerves spoil potentially the biggest win of her young professional career. Frazier, a veteran on the pro tour, seemed unfazed by a giant deficit and was coming back.

Frazier, who was leading 3-2 in the first set, almost unexplainably lost nine consecutive games to put herself in a 6-3, 5-0 hole.

But patiently and surely, Frazier rallied back to within 5-4 and was serving with a chance to tie the second set after saving a pair of match points.

Tongsalee, who played brilliantly and aggressively to take the lead, never panicked - even after having a match point overruled by chair umpire Jim Morrin.

"I tried not to think about it," she said. "I just kept hitting it back."

Tongsalee, a 25-year-old from Thailand, eventually held on when Frazier hit one deep on the replayed point, securing the victory that was much closer than it looked like it was going to be.

"I was nervous," Tongsalee said. "I was just trying to hit the ball back as much as possible and not try for winners so much. She's a good player. At the beginning of the second set, I was keeping the ball back. But she started to hit it better."

Frazier seemed to be in good shape early in the match, leading 3-2 when back-to-back points put her in a tailspin that she couldn't stop.

Frazier seemed affected by a blazing noon sun that was blistering on Court 1. But her rally from a 5-0 deficit had the crowd buzzing.

"If I was able to squeak out that game, who knows?" Frazier said. "She was playing unbelievable. I just kept trying until the last point. But she was the better player today."

The victory for Tongsalee was easily the biggest of her career. Frazier came into the tournament ranked No. 77 in the world. On Friday, Tongsalee eliminated 16-year-old phenom Alexa Glatch in the quarterfinals - a match that most considered a big upset.

"I think it's good for me to play the good players," said Tongsalee, who last weekend reached the finals of a $75,000 doubles tournament in New Mexico where she lost to Julie Ditty and Milagros Sequera.

The semifinals were played on a picture-perfect Saturday morning.

However, the day wasn't so perfect for Ditty, the hometown favorite. She and partner Stephanie Dubois, the No. 3 seeds, fell to Frazier and Teryn Ashley 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 in the doubles semifinals in the last match of the day.

Frazier and Ashley will play fourth-seeded Ahsha Rolle and Maria Fernanda Alves, a 6-2, 6-2 win over Beau Jones and Ana Perianu, in the doubles championship.

After losing 7-3 in the tiebreaker in the first set, Ditty and Dubois rallied to even the match. That set was highlighted by a spectacular eighth game that decided the set. There were 20 points, seven deuces and six set points before Ditty served out the winner.

In the decisive third set, Frazier and Ashley broke Dubois while leading 3-2. The third-seeded team never recovered.

Ditty was expectd to leave today for Troy, Ala., and another $50,000 event this week.

Brandi's match with Snyder was typical of her other triumphs this week. She stays back on the baseline, stays low and keeps her opponent on the run.

After easily winning the first set and leading 3-1 in the second set, Brandi saw Snyder fight back to tie it 4-4.

"I knew I had to keep fighting and hitting my shots," Brandi said. "It was tough. After it got 4-all, I had to put in some extra focus and concentration."

Brandi, who has played on the WTA Tour and is ranked No. 103 in the world, has had great success on the Challenger tournament level. Two years ago, she won eight consecutive Challenger events, a record for the series.

The steady-hitting Brandi, who hadn't played since the U.S. Open, said it's been good to get in matches this week.

"In these tournaments, I've always done well," she said. "They've been good to me. These are good for getting some confidence and getting tougher."

Brandi, 28, said she's more selective on her tournaments these days. She's playing this week in Troy, Ala., then in San Francisco and Houston before playing WTA events in Philadelphia and Quebec.

Brandi has enjoyed her stay in Ashland this week.

"I think it's been great," she said. "It seems like the people here are really involved. It's a nice climate for tennis."

Notes

Chair umpire Jim Morrin overruled a linesman on a match point in the semifinal match between Tongsalee and Frazier. The linesman called Frazier's shot on the baseline out but Morrin overruled and replayed the point. Tongsalee didn't argue the call. Earlier in the tournament, Morrin overruled another call on match point when Brandi was playing Diane Ospina. Brandi's winner was ruled out by the linesman but Morrin changed the call, keeping Brandi alive on a point that would have eliminated her. ... The champion in singles today will earn $7,315 while the runnerup gets $3,990. The champion team in doubles splits $2,660 while the runnerup team shares $1,425. ... Today's finals will be replayed tonight at 9 on Adelphia channel 25 with Dr. Jack Ditty and Jim Fuzy doing the color and play-by-play. Ohio University Southern Campus' electronic department is produing the event.