Russians Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova and Czechs Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova were victorious in doubles in the final two Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events of the year before the season finales in Doha and Bali.
Third-seeded Kirilenko and Petrova captured the Kremlin Cup on Saturday with a convincing 62 62 defeat of Maria Kondratieva and Klara Zakopalova in 56 minutes. Kirilenko and Petrova, who did not have to play a seeded team all week, now have two Tour titles together, having also won Cincinnati last year.
"Winning the doubles title here in Moscow is a nice way to end the season," said Petrova, who now has 18 Tour doubles titles in her career. "This is the second tournament I have played with Maria, and we had a lot of fun this week. Hopefully we can play together again soon."
"It's always nice to win here in Moscow, playing so close to home with the support of all the fans. It's good to end the season on a good note," said Kirilenko, who now has six Tour doubles titles to her name. "Maybe Nadia and I can team up again and try to win another title."
Another team that did not have to play a seeded duo all week, No.2 seeds Benesova and Zahlavova Strycova, won the BGL Luxembourg Open on Sunday with a 16 60 107 victory over fellow Czechs Vladimira Uhlirova and Renata Voracova. The champs rallied from a 7-5 deficit in the match tie-break to win five straight points and the match.
This was Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova's second title as a duo, as they also won Stockholm last year. They each now have five Tour doubles titles. This one did not come easily, though, as three of their four matches ended in match tie-breaks, including their first round victory over Julia Goerges and Urszula Radwanska, in which they won five straight points after being down 8-5 in the match tie-break to win, 67(12) 63 108.
