HEAD Player Mikhail Youzhny wins his 3rd ATP title

HEAD players enjoyed tremendous success at various tournaments this past weekend.

HEAD player Mikhail Youzhny of Russia earned his third ATP title, upsetting No. 3 seed and fellow HEAD Player Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-2, 6-4, in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Sunday.

The tournament marked 24-year-old Youzhny’s first ATP final since October 2004 in St. Petersburg. “This victory is special because it’s been a long time since I won a title,” remarked Youzhny, who plays with a HEAD Flexpoint Instinct.

Despite the loss, Ljubicic, who played in his third ATP final of 2007, felt the Rotterdam tournament has prepared him for the upcoming Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Rotterdam.

“I finally played great tennis. I played at a higher level than in Doha and Zagreb. I’m ready for the two Masters Series events. I feel better on the court and I really wanted to do something special this week,” said Ljubicic, who plays with the HEAD MicroGel Extreme Pro racquet.

One week after his success in San Jose, HEAD player Andy Murray of Scotland found himself face-to-face with Andy Roddick again at the semi-finals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis. Murray fought hard with his HEAD Radical racquet, but was defeated in two tight sets.

HEAD player Amelie Mauresmo continued her successful run in Dubai where she reached her second consecutive final in two weeks at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships. Top-seeded Justine Henin defeated second seed Mauresmo 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to win the title.

“I’m really proud that I could show the crowd here in Dubai some of my best tennis. Unfortunately I didn’t get the title. But I really enjoyed playing here. The stay in Dubai was really special and we all really enjoyed it,” said Mauresmo who plays with a HEAD Flexpoint Radical MP.

Fellow HEAD player Roberta Vinci from Italy succeeded at the Copa Colsanitas in Bogota (COL). She gained her first WTA singles title with her HEAD Flexpoint Instinct against No. 1 seeded Tathiana Garbin. Her opponent had to withdraw when she was down 3-0 in the 3rd set because of stomach problems. Nevertheless it was a great success for the 24-year-old Italian.