The French 10th seed and crowd favorite won the title when her top seeded compatriot, Marion Bartoli, retired in tears with a left thigh injury after losing the first set 5-7. It was her second title after Strasbourg in May.
“I’m sorry for her, I hope it’s not a big injury, but that’s tennis,” said Rezai, 22, whose raking will be in the top 25 from 44 going into the tournament. “There has to be a winner and a loser, and I’m glad I’m the winner.”
Her US$200,000 check from Bali – this year a designated year-end championship – brought her career earnings to more than $1 million. She called it a bonus, but there were other achievements that were more meaningful to her.
“It means a lot to me to show people and my parents that I can do better,” said Rezai, who is coached by her father and brother and holds dual French-Iranian citizenship.
Bartoli, 25, whose ranking will rise one place to 11, said her thigh began to feel tight in the middle of the set. “It’s sad to end the year like this … but it’s been a great year, I’ve had some good wins.”
Fierce-hitting Rezai had played superbly all week, emerging unbeaten from the round-robin competition and losing only one set, to 4th seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany.
The courage that carried her through against Lisicki was on display in the dramatic set on Sunday, which was marked by enthralling, hard-hitting rallies.
The set went on serve until 2-all. Bartoli played a smart game, moving the ball into the corners on the fast, low-bouncing wood court and keeping Rezai out of position from hitting her groundstrokes.
The higher-ranked Frenchwoman broke at 15, and then fought off two breakpoints on her own serve to bolster her lead to 4-2. It was back on serve until Bartoli reached 5-3. Rezai played an erratic game that included two double faults, with the second giving Bartoli a setpoint.
Earlier in the week, after beating Lisicki, Rezai said the most important thing in tennis is to fight, and that it is a “strange” sport where anything can happen. She proved her statement by displaying the grit that brought her through other close calls, serving an ace.
The momentum had suddenly shifted. Rezai broke for 5-5, and the next game was played at a lightning-fast pace. The women moved each other from side to side in long, punishing rallies that left them both gasping. Bartoli was unable to convert on a breakpoint, and at the changeover was limping.
Serving to stay in the set, Bartoli continued to fight but when Rezai reached setpoint at 15-40, she walked to her chair shaking her head. The trainer was called, but Bartoli could barely move when she came back to serve, slapping a double fault. She congratulated Rezai and buried her face in her towel, sobbing.
“It’s just my body and the way I play, I try too hard and things break down,” the 2006 runner-up in Bali said of eight retirements during 2009.
She said she would not practice for three weeks to allow her body to recover before 2010.
“It’s good that I have a doctor traveling with me,” she joked of her father, Walter, who gave up his career as a physician to coach her.
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