Tennis Roundup : Leconte Keeps the Pressure on Hlasek in Belgian Final

Henri Leconte, who has not always been at his best under pressure, could not have been better against Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland as the Frenchman won the final of the $490,000 Belgian Indoor Championships, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4, Sunday at Brussels.

Leconte never gave Hlasek a chance in the first two tiebreakers, which he won 7-3 and 8-6. Neither player lost his serve in the match until Leconte won the ninth game of the third set by whipping three passing shots by Hlasek.

“It is great satisfaction to win against the eighth (ranked) player in the world,” said Leconte, ranked 13th. “Here I played some of my best tennis.”

It ended a 14-match winning streak by Hlasek, who also played near error-free in the final, and said “I don’t understand how I lost.”

Leconte earned $74,500 while winning his second Grand Prix title this year, and Hlasek won $37,250.

Katrina Adams and Zina Garrison beat top-seeded Robin White and Gigi Fernandez, 7-5, 7-5, to win the $250,000 Virginia Slims world doubles championship at Tokyo.

Adams, of Chicago, and Garrison, of Houston, split $75,000. Fernandez, of Miami, and White, of San Jose, split $50,000.

Derrick Rostagno, a 23-year-old from Brentwood, beat Alex Antonitsch of Austria, 6-3, 6-1, in 55 minutes to win the $55,000 Copenhagen Open at Denmark.