Agnes Szavay held off the challenge of top seed Patty Schnyder to win the GDF Suez Grand Prix in front of her home supporters in Budapest, adding her name to the players who have joined the Road To Bali.
The 20-year old overcame the 2008 Bali champion 2-6 6-4 6-2 to claim her first title in nearly two years. She had previously won Palermo and Beijing in 2007, and she was playing her first final since the Paris indoor event early in 2008.
"It feels great to win here," she said. "The crowd was supporting me the whole week. It was a lot of pressure, but on the other hand, they were supporting me so much even when I wasn't playing so well. I won my last title a long time ago so this win feels great, especially because it's in Hungary. I played so badly here last year and didn't expect to win this year, so I'm really happy with what happened this week. My goal is to get back into the Top 20 this year, if possible."
Szavay’s welcome victory not only returned her to the winners circle after a long absence, but as a winner of one of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s International Series it put her in contention for a place in the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, which will take place at the Bali Convention Centre, The Westin, Nusa Dua, Bali, from 4th to 8th November.
The tournament will feature top Tour players and next generation champions competing in an innovative 12 woman round robin singles format, offering $600,000 in prize money. In addition, an incredible $1 million bonus will be paid to any player that can win three of the 30 International Series events, and the Tournament of Champions.
The top 10 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players who have won at least one International Series tournament during the year and who are not participating in singles at the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships will qualify for the event, along with two wild cards. The 12-woman event will feature four groups of three players in a round robin format, then a single-elimination semi-finals and final.
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