Tennis

Qualifier vs. No. 8 in Clearwater Open final

By NANCY MORGAN
Published January 30, 2005

CLEARWATER - Romania's Anda Perianu meets Asha Rolle of Miami at noon today in the Sheriff Jim Coats Clearwater Women's Open final at the McMullen Tennis Complex.

Perianu, ranked No. 636 in the world, reached the final of the $10,000 Pro Circuit tournament by winning three qualifying matches and four in the 32-player main draw, including an upset of the tournament's No. 1 seed, Yan-Ze Xie of China. In Saturday's semifinal, Perianu, 24, defeated No. 4 Anne Mall of California 6-4, 3-0. Mall retired because of an injury.

Rolle, seeded No. 8 and ranked No. 388, won three matches to advance to the final. No. 2 seed Christina Wheeler withdrew because of illness.

"I played tennis up until I was 16 and then started teaching, thinking that being a professional was out of the question," Perianu said. "When I transferred to the University of Oklahoma, I was encouraged to compete again. It is now a dream for me to be a professional player."

At Oklahoma, Perianu was ranked No. 3 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and reached the National Indoor Championships.

In Rolle's last two tournaments, the 19-year-old lost in the second round twice in singles and in the semifinals in doubles.

"Last year was my first year as a full-time pro, and I've never been to a final before," Rolle said. "I am thrilled to be there and am looking forward to it."

In the doubles championship, unseeded Americans Lauren Fisher and Amanda Johnson face top seed Anna Bastrikova of Russia and Natalia Dziamidzenka of Bulgaria. It will be played after the singles match.

[Last modified January 30, 2005, 00:10:19]