Venus beats Zvonareva to win WTA Championships

DOHA: Venus Williams beat Russia's Vera Zvonareva 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 on Sunday to win the WTA Championships and complete an undefeated week at the season-
ending event.

It was the first time the American had won the event after she reached the semi-finals in her previous two appearances. She retired injured on the second occasion, in 2002, and qualified but failed to play because of injury on five other occasions. "It's fantastic to end the season this way," Williams said. "I've never really had the opportunity to play this tournament very often so it's really awesome to have that opportunity and to play well." Williams, unbeaten in her five matches this time, earned $1.34 million dollars, allowing her to overtake Martina Navratilova for fourth place on the list of top prize money earners in women's tennis. Zvonareva received $715,000. It was her third title of the year, following victories in Wimbledon and Zurich. The American began sluggishly and dropped her serve in the second game when she double-faulted and then made a backhand error. Zvonareva, after saving two break points in the next game, at first showed no sign of relinquishing her advantage, making few unforced errors to build a 5-2 lead but Williams gradually raised her level. Zvonareva failed to convert four set points and was unable to serve out the set at 5-3 before a netted backhand gave Williams a vital break and eventually a first-set tie break. The Russian fell 5-1 behind in the opening set decider but Williams dropped both her serves when leading 5-4, one with a double-fault, and Zvonareva took the tiebreak 7-5 when her backhand clipped the netcord and fell in her favour. Her intensity then faded and Williams's greater strength and versatility dramatically swung the match her way. Zvonareva, who had played every week since September's US Open in a bid to qualify for the event, clearly had nothing left to give as she won just two more games. She briefly recovered a break at 2-0 down in the final set but Williams regained her advantage immediately to leave the Russian lying on the court in tears of frustration. Williams then went on to break again in the last game, closing out the two hour 10-minute match with a forehand winner. "I think I just got more consistent," Williams said. "I was missing some shots early on, and then I think I was more in control of the points and that helps a lot and I felt the tables started to turn a little bit." Zvonareva was happy to have claimed four wins over higher ranked opponents during the week, but found Williams too strong. "Venus is very powerful," she said. "She came up with some great serves when she needed. It was tough on me. "Maybe I didn't use those shots that helped me to win the first set. I didn't use them in the second and third as much so it gave her a little bit more opportunity to dictate the game."

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo

Cyprus lace to be declared UNESCO cultural heritage

Tuesday, September 08, 2009 NICOSIA: Traditional hand-made lace produced in the Larnaca district village of Lefkara in Cyprus known as lefkaritiko includeded in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Soseilos said that the relevant UNESCO committee has already decided to include lefkaritiko in its list of the world’s ICH, a more recent addition to UNESCO’s long-standing list of World Heritage sites, and the decision will be formally announced at the UNESCO General Assembly next month. The tradition of needlework and lace embroidery in Lefkara goes back centuries.

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