Andrei Medvedev, coming off back and shoulder injuries that have hampered his play for two years, won his first title of the year Sunday when he beat Felix Mantilla 6-0, 6-4, 6-2 in capturing his third German Open.
Medvedev outclassed the 10th-seeded Spaniard, especially in the first set of the final of the $2.3 million clay court tournament."He gave me a lesson," Mantilla said.
Medvedev, ranked No. 38 entering the tournament, won $337,000. Mantilla, ranked No. 15, earned $177,000. Each was playing his first final of the year.
Medvedev won this tournament in 1994 and 1995, and was ranked as high as No. 4 after his first German Open victory. Then came the injuries and long layoffs.
Now the 22-year-old Ukrainian is coming back. He won last August in Long Island and the German Open was the 11th title of his career.
Italian Open
ROME (AP) - Mary Pierce, her opponent weakened by neck spasms, spoiled Conchita Martinez's bid for a fifth consecutive Italian Open title Sunday with a 6-4, 6-0 victory.
"It was easier than I expected," Pierce said. "She got a little hurt. ... It was kind of weird."
After a 52-minute first set, Pierce wrapped up the second set in just 18 minutes, ending the Spaniard's run of 24 straight wins on the clay at Italico.
Pierce, who had ousted No. 1 seed Monica Seles in the third round, played far from flawless tennis. But she was steady enough on a day when Martinez clearly was troubled by her injury.
Martinez, the No. 3 seed, was treated by a trainer during most changeovers after the fifth game of the first set. Pierce won the next three games after that, and Martinez was never able to recover.